


Do You Believe in Magic?

by nine3rds



Series: DYBIM [1]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Fantasy, Fluff and Humor, I gave Beomgyu magic powers., I watch too much Shonen anime., Lots of cussing though., M/M, Mages, Mentioned Bangtan Boys | BTS Member(s), Multi, Stupid pretty pink haired boys., TXT + MAGIC is fun., TXT in a shonen anime adventure tbh, mage!Beomgyu, mage!Soobin, mage!Yeonjun, mage!hueningkai, mage!taehyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 128,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nine3rds/pseuds/nine3rds
Summary: In a world where Magic runs rampant, it is important to know the facts and the fact of the matter is that ten minutes into his life-altering journey, Beomgyu managed forget his map on the train, almost lose his bag during the bag check and was now in the middle of a high-speed chase.Luckily for Beomgyu, his journey was never meant to be travelled alone.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin/Kang Taehyun
Series: DYBIM [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201202
Comments: 156
Kudos: 194





	1. Into the City

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. 
> 
> I rewatched Fairy Tail during quarantine and decide that giving magic powers to TXT was the best thing to do. I'm a little rusty at writing and I know this first chapter is messy, but it'll get better as the story progresses.
> 
> Please also note that you do not need to know the anime/manga to read this fic. It was inspired by the series, but does not have much connection to it. Lol.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> Bye.

In a world where Magic runs rampant, facts were important.

 **There were basic facts:** The Magic that all the Mages in the land used were fueled by the life-force energy known as Mana. This was one truth that could never be changed; there were so many forms of Magic, but it all came down to the strength of Mana. Everyone had Mana but not everyone had enough Mana to perform Magic – commonfolk had the smallest amount of Mana and Mages had the highest amount of Mana.

Beomgyu was one of the people who were blessed with a seemingly endless amount of Mana. The Choi family he was from had been a known Magic Family – his entire lineage had been blessed with abilities that most people were unable to do.

It was a fact that his father and older brother held similar Magic: Elemental Magic, focused specifically on Earth Magic. While Beomgyu loved whenever his father would cast a spell and the ground would move, he was never a fan of when his older brother would cause the vines to pin Beomgyu against the side of the house for hours. He swore that his brother had nothing else similar to their father except for that. So, it wasn’t a surprise that Beomgyu had the same Magic that his mother had.

It was a fact that Beomgyu had no talent in Elemental Magic. He definitely didn’t have any strengths in Enhancement Magic or even in Transformative Magic; he couldn’t even cast a Written Magic. As he grew up, Beomgyu had wondered if he would even be able to use any kind of Magic – he actually cried about it, more than wondered. When he was ten years old, he learned that he matched his mother’s magical signature – Celestial Summoning Magic.

_“What does that mean?” Beomgyu asked his mother as he sat on the floor in front of her, his legs crossing over themselves to make him more comfortable. No one in school ever mentioned Celestial Summoning Magic – he would have known if they did and no one ever did. In the same breath, his schoolmates would compliment his brother and praise his Elemental Magic spells. “I don’t think that’s a real Magic,” he frowned at his mother._

_His mother’s eyes were always so warm, especially to her youngest. She reached forward and ruffled his hair. Her lips formed a smile that always blanketed Beomgyu with warmth._

_“It’s real,” she smiled at him as she reached for her necklace. A beautifully carved gold key was attached to the chain. She lifted the necklace and held it in front of Beomgyu, “This is the Celestial Zodiac Key of Aquarius and this is what your Magic will unlock.” Her free hand reached for Beomgyu’s hand before she placed it in his hand. “Your Mana will help create a partnership with the Celestial Spirit an---”_

_“So, I can’t do anything without a Celestial Spirit?” Beomgyu frowned. That was lame. No offense to his mother but Beomgyu didn’t want Magic that relied on someone else’s abilities, even if it was a Spirit._

_“No,” his mother laughed, almost as if she expected that response from her son. A soft sigh came from her and shook her head, “The Spirits need **your** help just as much as you need theirs. Your Mana helps them live and in turn, they will help you. It’s a partnership, a never ending friendship that grows with your bond.” She carefully closed Beomgyu’s hand around the Key of Aquarius, “Aquarius is my friend and I’ve asked her to take care of you from now on.”_

_Beomgyu stared at the key, skeptically eying the carved Aquarius sign._

_“She’s a little feisty,” his mother giggled, “But she will never let you be lonely.” Beomgyu looked up at his mother. For as long as he could have remembered, she always had the Aquarius necklace. Would she be lonely now?_

When Beomgyu reached his early teen years, he learned the fact that Celestial Summoning Magic was a much rarer form of Magic than his brother’s. That made him all the more excited to master that Magic even more and the more he researched the history of his Magic, the more he understood what his mother meant by never being lonely. Every Celestial Summoning Key unlocked a new contract, a new partnership, and a new friend; it wasn’t just about strength, it was about relationships and that’s what Beomgyu learned to love.

It was a fact that Celestial Summoning Magic was on the rarer spectrum of Magic. Although it was considered rare, it wasn’t exactly a popular form – according to his mother, the number of people who practice this were in the light thousands and Beomgyu was now a member of them.

He looked at the Aquarius Key and smiled, “We should find more friends and stop them from being lonely too.”

* * *

There were Magic Guilds and then there was _the_ Magic Guild.

“Did you get it? Did you get it? I asked if yo--,” Beomgyu’s excitement was hushed by his mother holding up the latest copy of the infamous _Sorcerer’s Weekly_. Normally, Beomgyu wasn’t interested in the stories dispatched by this magazine – he always believed that the different Magic Guilds and Mages that were featured were all paid-for stories (“ _Most of us common folk really could give a shit about a full-bikini spread for the summer,” Beomgyu commented at his older brother’s most cherished edition of the magazine, “It’s gross.” His brother easily retorted that Beomgyu was dramatic and not on the same spectrum as him but by the time he spoke, Beomgyu was already out of the room asking their mother what dinner was going to be_.) – but this time was different.

His fingers gripped the magazine so tightly that it threatened to wrinkle the magazine.

“I’m going to be in my room,” he shouted as he ran up the stairs, “If we’re having seafood for dinner, don’t call me but if we have dessert, please call me!”

Beomgyu laid the magazine on his bed and grinned, “Finally. _Finally_.”

Everyone had their own favorite Magic Guilds. While all of those _other_ Guilds held their charms and were always featured, there was exactly one Guild that Beomgyu followed with his whole heart: **_The BH Guild_**.

On the front cover of _Sorcerer’s Weekly_ were the seven Mages dubbed as BH’s ‘Seven Virtues’ and slightly in front of them was their Guild Master, Bang Si-Hyuk (aka, ‘Hitman Bang’). Beomgyu had given up trying to hide his excitement. This was the first full feature that the BH Guild ever had in _Sorcerer’s Weekly_. They’d been featured many, many times before – the Guild Members were not only known for their abilities, but also for their charms and appearances (Kim Taehyung has been at the top of the Most Handsome Mages list so often that Beomgyu even started to lose track) – but this was the first time that the BH Guild has agreed for a full spread interview.

This was not an issue anyone would want to miss.

* * *

The issue started off exactly the most of them do: an Introduction to the Guild. In Beomgyu’s opinion, the written introduction was lacking. It shortened the turmoil that the Guild Master, Bang Si-hyuk and his right hand man, Lee Hyun had undergone in the beginning – the BH Guild started with only the two of them and now, their reputation is known throughout all of the land. _Sorcerer Weekly_ kept it brief: _The start of the infamous BH Guild was started from a humble two-man team and with the strategy and skill of the two unassuming Mages, they were able to complete over 3,000 quests in a single year. Once they earned enough, they were able to register their Guild and purchase their first Guild Hall._ …Beomgyu frowned. It skipped over a good twenty-some odd years in the Guild’s history and went straight into the establishment of the Seven Virtues. While Beomgyu enjoyed the rise of the Virtues, he also knew that the founders of the Guild deserved more recognition …but with magazines, sex appeal sells and the Seven Virtues sold-out the preorders for this single issue.

Like most of the people who studied Magic, Beomgyu agreed that in this generation, the Seven Virtues were considerably the most powerful. Their strengths individually were already difficult to gauge, but when combined, they were nearly unstoppable.

“Kim Namjoon,” Beomgyu read the name aloud, “Kim Seokjin. Min Yoongi. Jung Hoseok. Park Jimin. Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook.” He fell silent, his eyes scanned over the photos of these infamous Mages. It wasn’t a lie that Beomgyu looked up to them – his walls were adorned with posters and scroll clippings of the Seven Virtues – but it was a different feeling altogether to see them on such a popular publication like this.

“Kim Namjoon, also known as RM, the Dragon Slayer of Water. Kim Seokjin, lovingly goes by the nickname Jin, a Mage blessed with strength of the Heavenly Bodies above. Min Yoongi, more notably known as Suga, the Dragon Slayer of Fire. Jung Hoseok, brightly referred to as j-hope, the Dragon Slayer of Iron. Park Jimin, the graceful Mage of Air. Kim Taehyung, the sturdy Mage of the Earth and last but note least, Jeon Jungkook, the Mage of unforeseen abilities …,” Beomgyu’s brows furrowed before he shook his head, “ _Unforeseen Abilities_? His caster magic is one of the strongest. His _Crush_ magic has been rumored to literally crush apart anything if he wanted! Hell, someone even said he could destroy the casted spells if he had enough Mana.” Beomgyu pursed his lips, “I should have written this. I could have written it better.”

And he could have.

Beomgyu has been following the BH Guild since he started learning to utilize his Celestial Summoning abilities. He dedicated nearly half of his life to learning as much as he could about the Guild and its members – his brother kept accusing him of not being able to let go of his crush on Park Jimin but Beomgyu was eleven when he was saved by Jimin and it was impossible for anyone not to be infatuated when the most graceful Mage rescued him from a Dark Guild.

 _“I’ve got you, kid,” Jimin had said as he caught Beomgyu in the air. Most Mages casted spell circles with their hands but Jimin had learned how to channel his Mana into his feet – he could cast spell circles quick enough that it made it look like Jimin could walk on air. Beomgyu looked at Jimin and then down; he had no experience being that high up in the air and that inexperience caused him to black out. By the time Beomgyu woke up, he was in Jimin’s arms but on ground level._

_There was a soft chuckle that came from the man who saved him._

_“You did good,” Jimin assured him as he ruffled Beomgyu’s hair, “Sorry I couldn’t get there before you were in the air. I need to be a little faster next time but I’m glad you’re alright, kid.” There was something soft, familiar in Jimin’s smile as he let Beomgyu down, “Stay safe, okay?”_

_Beomgyu nodded slowly. At ten years old, he still fumbled over his own words._

_“Hey,” Jimin’s voice came through again. This time, he pointed at the gold key on Beomgyu’s necklace, “Keep that safe from the Dark Guilds. If you’re strong enough to collect more of those, you should join the BH Guild.”_

Beomgyu felt himself flush at that last line – **_You_** _should join the BH Guild._

Could he even join that Guild? Would they even want him to join? What if he joined and he couldn’t match up the rest of the Mages there? What if he was a terrible Mage? He wasn’t, but his mind liked to let him believe that he was. Joining the BH Guild seemed like an impossible task.

Celestial Summoning Keys weren’t rare – there were stalls in the town square that sold the silver keys every weekend. Beomgyu felt sorry for those keys.

The Gold Zodiac keys? Those weren’t _just_ rare, it was almost impossible to gather more than one of them.

They were earned and Beomgyu had four now.

* * *

When Beomgyu turned nineteen, he decided that it was time to make that impossible seeming dream a reality.

As expected, his mother protested with every fiber of her body. Much to the surprise of his mother and himself, his father agreed with his decision to join the Magic Guild. When his father agreed, his mother turned to scold him but ended her rant when he explained that if Beomgyu was in the BH Guild, he would be much safer; one Zodiac key was one thing but four of them was just asking for a Dark Guild to come after him.

There had been a lot of debate during that dinner talk but ultimately, it ended the day Beomgyu swung his backpack over his shoulders and walked out the door. He tried to keep the good-byes brief – he let them keep going, he would have started to cry and decided not to leave yet. So, he kept it at short hugs but left both his parents’ letters on the dining room table. Even his brother got a good-bye letter.

Beomgyu was good with words, but only if his emotions weren’t all over the place. With the warmth of his mother’s goodbye embrace, he could feel himself getting choked up by emotions. Tears threatened to jump, so he shut his eyes and hugged his mother one last time. She whispered a question, asking him to stay just a little longer and put off his journey for another few weeks – _Until the summer, when everything isn’t so cold!_ – but Beomgyu shook his head. He needed to do this.

And that was it.

That was the start of Beomgyu’s journey.

But with Beomgyu, nothing is ever that smooth.

* * *

It was exactly ten minutes since Beomgyu stepped off the train and into the central city of the Kingdom. However, in the span of those ten minutes, Beomgyu managed to forget his map on the train, nearly lost his bag during the bag check and was no embroiled in a high-speed chase of an unknown pickpocket.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

The expletives dropped in his mind almost as fast as Beomgyu ran. Back in his village, he was the fastest amongst everyone he knew – he was known for his strong leg power. If this was back in the village, he would have ran right past the fields and tackled that pickpocket in no time but this wasn’t the city and there were no open fields to help him catch up. Instead, there were crowds of angry people and Mana powered vehicles; there were too many carts of fruit, stands of false magic items and just too many people. Beomgyu spent more time basket weaving through everything to focus on his speed.

“Come on,” Beomgyu muttered under his breath.

It took him a total of twenty minutes to finally have the pickpocket back in his line of sight.

Thirty minutes into his life-altering journey and he’d already lost two of his Celestial Zodiac keys.

Desperation started to make itself home on Beomgyu’s expression. If the pickpocket just stole his wallet, desperation wouldn’t have arrived so quickly …but it was his wallet _and_ two of his Gold Zodiac Keys. The Key of Aquarius and the Key of Leo – one was a gift from his mother and the other was the first key he ever collected on his own, both were his dearest friends.

The tears that Beomgyu had managed to hold back during the good-byes with his family had finally decided it was time to show themselves. How did he manage to get off the train and ruin everything in less than ten minutes? He didn’t even get the chance to go to the BH Guild; he didn’t get to impress them with his magical talent. He was stupid. He would have never been able to impress the BH Guild and its members, especially since couldn’t even hold onto the very items that would have caught their attention.

“I’m a fucking idiot,” Beomgyu’s voice shook with each step he took. Between the unexpected running and the awful thoughts his brain gave, the dark haired boy started to find it hard to breathe. “I’m so stupid,” he muttered again as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, “Why wasn’t I paying attention? Why wasn’t I careful? Why did I—”

_CRASH._

“What the fuck?” Beomgyu cursed as he tried to scramble back to his feet. He grabbed for his backpack; his hands patted across it to make sure that everything was still in place. There was no need to lose anything else. Panic spread across from him as he realized that the pickpocket he was after was nowhere in sight now. He turned to face the giant of a man who crashed into him. Tall – _too tall, if Beomgyu was honest_ – blue with the most gentle eyes that Beomgyu had ever seen. He paused for a moment to take in the features of the person who disrupted his entire plan.

“Excuse me,” Beomgyu said with a sharp tone, “Some of us are trying to write a soliloquy about their personal anguish. Don’t bump into me.”

A sheepish expression masked the gentle blue giant’s face before he brushed a hand to the back of his head. His eyes looked at the ground before looking up at Beomgyu, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your solil—your personal anguish?” There was softness to this stranger, Beomgyu thought but didn’t say anything. He let the blue man speak, “I was trying to catch someone. Pickpockets in the city—”

Beomgyu’s eyes lit up. He rose his hand up to stop the blue stranger from continuing. “Was it a curly haired pickpocket with a red beanie?” Beomgyu asked with gestures, “About this tall and with a face that only a mother could love?”

The stranger’s gentle eyes met with Beomgyu’s as he nodded slowly, “Yes. He had a crooked nose and beady green eyes. Those were so weird. I wouldn’t be able to forget them.”

Beomgyu snapped his fingers and pointed at the boy, “We’re after same person. He jacketed something from me and I need to get it back. I need to get it back _fast_.” There was part of him that wondered if the thief even knew the value of what he stole from Beomgyu. If that dumbass pickpocket didn’t realize it yet, then Beomgyu still had a chance. He looked over to the tall blue man one last time. “I have a proposition for you …,” Beomgyu started.

* * *

“Did it ever occur to you that crouching down to sneak around _only_ works for short people?” Beomgyu whispered harshly at the other boy in in front of him. It hasn’t even been a day and Beomgyu was _already_ crawling through the city, hidden behind a wall. “I don’t know if you know your own height, Soobin, but you are far too tall to be thought of as invisible. Even if you’re squatting down and hiding behind a wall.”

It was two hours to midnight and Beomgyu finally decided to sit down. As he pressed his back against the wall, he looked over to Soobin. The blue haired Mage’s expression had been gentle when Beomgyu first met him but now, there was a mix of frustration and just the small hint of anger. A life-changing journey was never going to go smoothly, especially with Soobin’s skeleton of a plan.

It turns out that Soobin was here on a Guild Quest to catch a pick-pocket – Beomgyu didn’t bother asking Soobin what guild since he was certain that the BH Guild would never have a quest for catching thieves. There were a lot of details that Soobin had gone over during their brief lunch pow-wow, but Beomgyu wasn’t interested in Soobin’s quest. He wanted to get his keys back. That was important.

“So,” Beomgyu whispered toward Soobin’s direction, “You’ve tracked the pickpocket down and you know exactly where is. Please tell me that you have a next step.”

Silence came from Soobin.

Beomgyu’s expression fell flat, “You don’t have a step two?” He closed his eyes and brought a hand to his forehead. He rubbed his forehead. Before he was in the city, one of his friends said that Beomgyu might meet a stranger who would take him on a whirlwind of an adventure …but this wasn’t the whirlwind that Beomgyu wanted.

“Well, like Hyuka said,” Soobin shrugged and said, “The enemies will never find your plan if you never have one?” He looked over at Beomgyu and smiled, an attempt to alleviate the tension of their situation. It didn’t help and Soobin could feel Beomgyu’s anger. “Look, look,” Soobin threw his hand up in defense, “I told you earlier that we’d go to the place the pickpocket goes to after every single time he jacks something and this is where we are at.”

Beomgyu didn’t say anything.

“And now that we’re here …you can go in and find the guy,” Soobin said.

“Me?” Beomgyu’s eyes narrowed, annoyance evident in his glare, “Why am I the one who has to go in? Aren’t you the one doing the quest?”

Soobin’s shoulders rose and fell, “I would go in but we’d be made out really easily. They know I’ve been tracking the pickpocket.” His eyes looked away from Beomgyu, looking down at the ground with a sigh. It made sense to Beomgyu now; Soobin needed help and Beomgyu had been the idiot that fell for his request. Soobin looked at him, “Sorry.”

“Okay, fine,” Beomgyu said, “Don’t look like a beat-up puppy.” Beomgyu said as he stood up and dusted his pants off. “You’re going to owe me big time for this. I’m basically about to do your quest,” He pointed at Soobin accusingly, “Whatever the reward is, I get 60% of it.”

“60?!”

Beomgyu looked at him and nodded, “I’m about to risk my life and walk into that really sketchy building. What if I’m ambushed? Did you research that?” There was drama in his voice but Beomgyu was confident that even if he _was_ ambushed, he would be able to handle it. He might have been down two Gold Zodiac keys, but he still had a four of them. He could handle it but just in case he couldn’t …, “You’re on standby. Look at the windows and if I make any signal that I need help, you better come and help me, Soobin. You can at least do that for me, right?”

Soobin smiled and rose an encouraging fist, “Fighting!”

Why Soobin trusted Beomgyu to do this plan so quickly made no sense to the Celestial Mage but what Beomgyu did understand was that he needed to act his part and get his precious keys back.

If he could wreak a little bit of revenge, he wasn’t opposed to it.

* * *

Beomgyu’s older brother went to the city a few times and told stories of the people and the bars that he had been familiar with. It was easy for Beomgyu to ignore those stories because one, they were boring and two, his brother tended to exaggerate to make himself sound much better than he actually was. However, now that he was face to face with a grungy bartender, Beomgyu wished that he listened to how his brother spoke to him better. Maybe this wasn’t because he was in the city, but because this was the first time that Beomgyu had ever been in a bar.

“Kid,” the bartender waved his hand in front of Beomgyu, “I asked what you wanted to drink? You okay?”

The heat in Beomgyu’s ears came quickly. He’d never been in a bar and his brother never explain the different drinks that he could order. Beomgyu cleared his throat as he tried to figure out a drink that he could order. He wished his older brother taught him things that could have prepared him for this. Actually, his brother would have found the flustered expression on Beomgyu’s face to be peak entertainment; his older brother really could be a bastard when he wanted to be.

“He’ll have a beer and I’ll have a whiskey,” a voice interjected and dropped some gold coins on the table. The owner of the voice gestured a thumb at Beomgyu and said, “My friend just got to town, so he’s a little _too_ tired to be ordering right now. Forgive him.”

First, he met a blue-haired giant known as Soobin. Now, he was looking at a pink-haired pretty boy.

Why did people in the city have such weird colored hair?

“ _YJ_ ,” the bartender said with such brightness that Beomgyu wondered if they had a crush on this _YJ_. The bartender pushed back the gold coins, “You know your money’s no good here. I owe you too much for you to toss coins for drinks.” There was a hearty, full-bellied laugh that came from the bartender before he smiled at Beomgyu, “You should have told me you were YJ’s friend. If you want more to drink come find me,” the bartender winked, “The other assholes at the bar will charge you triple. Cute doe-eyed newlings get scammed a lot.” The warning came gently as the bartender put their drinks on the bar before he went to the next customer.

Beomgyu stared at the amber liquid in front of him. It was a good enough momentary distraction from the handsome, pink-haired stranger next to him. His eyes narrowed at the beer. _He really should have figured a plan._

“It’s just a beer,” this YJ interrupted his thoughts, “I promise you, it’s not going to kill you.”

“How did you know I just got here?” Beomgyu’s annoyance bubbled into question as he turned his attention from the beer in front of him to the slightly taller man. Slicked back pink hair, all black and leather with the most unfortunately attractive smug smirk – this could potentially end very badly for Beomgyu. “Are you stalking me?”

This YJ didn’t say anything. Not right away. Instead, he took his glass into his hand and rose it in a toast toward Beomgyu. Silence dawned on Beomgyu as he watched the man’s lips press against the glass; he didn’t expect to be so enticed by someone drink whiskey before. Once he finished the whiskey, he set the empty glass on the bar. Then Beomgyu felt the heat in his cheeks rise as he felt YJ’s arm go around his shoulder. The blush on his cheeks deepened as YJ leaned in and whispered, “You’ve got that bright-eyed, Country Boy, expression that hasn’t been tainted by the city yet. It’s hard to miss that, especially in a pretty well-known mercenary bar. It’s kind of cute.”

If the bartender asking him questions flustered him, this pink haired stranger was doing even more than that. Beomgyu didn’t even bother reaching for his beer.

With YJ’s arm around him, Beomgyu let him lead him away from the bar and toward a quieter corner of the bar. It felt empty when YJ’s arm left his shoulders but Beomgyu watched him lean against the wall. The unfortunately attractive smirk came back on his face, “Let me guess, Country Boy. Someone lifted something important from you and you followed him here thinking it’d be easy to get back.”

Beomgyu blinked. Why did all city boys have weird colored hair?

“You’re annoying,” Beomgyu accused him, “Too confident. It’s not appealing.” _He lied._

The pink-haired boy rolled his eyes before another smirk settled. Why did confident boys like him have to be so smug for? YJ’s arms crossed across his chest before he nodded at Beomgyu, “You’re not going to find him up here but I can help you get to him.”

“Why?” was all that Beomgyu sputter out.

“Because you’re interesting and you’ll owe me after that,” YJ said.

There was a lot of protest in Beomgyu’s mind. Wasn’t there a warning that said not to trust strangers? This was the second stranger in one day that Beomgyu was about to put his faith in. His eyes flickered for a moment before he looked sternly at YJ, “Soobin is outside.”

YJ raised an eyebrow.

“If you do anything weird to me, Soobin is outside and he’ll trac--,” Beomgyu’s threat was cut off by YJ’s sigh and shrug. The pink-haired mystery boy looked at him and reassured him, “Don’t worry, your boyfriend outside won’t have to do anything. I won’t hurt you.”

“He’s **_not_** my boyfriend.” Beomgyu wasn’t sure why he felt the need to clear that up with this pink-haired man but he needed to.

* * *

Beomgyu should have known that there _would_ be secret passages that would lead to secret rooms.

Paranoid wasn’t a strong enough word to explain what Beomgyu felt. YJ had to mutter a secret password – “ _It’s ancient Halrak,” he had explained to Beomgyu, “They claim it’s a password and most people believe it …but honestly, it’s just an unlocking spell.” YJ had explained._ – and the wall turned transparent until the both of the crossed through it. Once they were past where the wall was, it turned solid again.

Beomgyu’s fingers absent-mindedly wandered back to the keys in his pocket. He gripped the keys tightly, if something would happen, he needed to be ready.

Their footsteps were the only sound down the stone passageway.

“What did the jackass take from you that you’re so desperate to get back?”

Beomgyu blinked at the question. He hadn’t even told Soobin why he was so desperate about it. So, why should he tell someone that he only knows by initials? A random stranger that he randomly met at a bar? If anything, he would have told Soobin first …but Beomgyu’s mouth moves without the permission of his mouth.

“It’s something from my mom,” he revealed, much to his surprise. Beomgyu blinked. _Why_ —he looked over at the other man. His expression seemed genuine enough, curious more than anything. Slowly, Beomgyu scanned YJ’s face and nodded, “She passed it down to me when I really started to learn how to use Magic. The Gold Zodiac Key of Aquarius has been in our family for years, passed down from one Celestial Mage to the other.” A faint smile tugged at the corners of Beomgyu’s lips …the smile faded almost instantly a thought dawned on Beomgyu. “…we need to be faster in getting it back. If we don’t get it back soon, I’m going to die.”

YJ’s eyebrow rose, “You’re going to die?”

The color drained itself off Beomgyu’s face. The boy looked pale, as if mosquitos had claimed his as their dinner. He took a sharp breath and looked over at the other with fear, “If I don’t get those keys back, I can promise you that I will be drowned.”

“By your mother?”

“… by Aquarius, _herself_ ,” Beomgyu mumbled.

It was an assumption that YJ knew anything about Celestial Mages and their Celestial Spirits. For a fact, Beomgyu knew that _most_ people didn’t know anything about this practice of Magic. It wasn’t flashy as Magic meant for offense nor was it as stable as defensive Magic; it didn’t match the same wavelength as Spatial Magic or Elemental Magic. If they knew about it, most people shied away from his Celestial Magic because it wasn’t reliant on solely him – it was a partnership between him and his Celestial Spirits.

“At least, it’s only Aquarius,” YJ surprised Beomgyu with that comment. _He’s not most people then,_ Beomgyu thought as he let YJ continue. “Be glad it’s not Scorpio,” a chuckle bubbled through the pink haired Mage before he looked over at Beomgyu a smirked. “Let’s get your family heirloom, Momma’s Boy.”

Beomgyu decided that one day, he would smack that smirk off his face.

Pink-haired, pretty boys were the worst.

* * *

Back in his home village, Beomgyu and his friends would imagine the types of adventures they would get into when they _finally_ got to start their journeys. A lot of them swore that they moment they entered the Kingdom’s city center, they’d find themselves in a whirlwind of action and be swept away into a new life of adventure; plenty of the expected that the moment they stepped off the train, they’d be whisked away and recruited by many Guilds. One of his friends swore that they’d meet their true love – _“We’ll fall in love under the moonlight and he’ll marry me,” they said and Beomgyu snorted with skepticism. “You can laugh at me all you want Choi Beomgyu, but I can’t wait for you to be swept off by some mysterious city slicker. You’ll be holding hands and running through the city together.”_

“You’re going to have to move a little faster than that, Country Boy,” YJ shouted and brought Beomgyu back into reality. An exasperated sigh left YJ before he grabbed Beomgyu’s hand, “Come on, follow me.”

Beomgyu scolded himself mentally for blushing but if YJ asked, it was because they were running. Not because YJ was holding his hand. He didn’t _even_ like YJ. Not at all.

The corridor that they had walked through earlier suddenly felt endless. The gray stone walls kept repeating itself over and over until Beomgyu found himself crashing into YJ’s back. There were plenty of curse words that came to mind, plenty of them were too foul to say out loud so Beomgyu settled for, “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Entrapment charm,” YJ let out a soft tsk as he dropped his grip of Beomgyu’s hand. He removed the black glove on his right hand as he walked toward the wall. Beomgyu’s curiosity was piqued as he walked the taller man brush his ungloved hand across the wall. He guessed that YJ released increments of Mana as his fingertips traced the stones on the wall. Brightly energized sigils began to expand themselves as YJ’s fingers left them. Beomgyu’s eyes sharpened as he watched YJ’s actions – he’d never seen a removal of a casted charm before. His father mentioned that only highly skilled Mages could do it successfully ( _“If you’re not careful, removing one part of a charm could change it into a more dangerous one,” his father had warned Beomgyu, “Even if it’s a charm to seal the cookie jar from thieving hands, trying to remove it without experience is foolish and you’re no fool, Choi Beomgyu._ ”) and Beomgyu wanted to believe that YJ was skilled enough to do it.

There wasn’t anything that Beomgyu could say to help YJ, so his silence remained.

Besides, Beomgyu’s attention went straight to the Gold Zodiac keys that were now in his possession: his friends were back home and safe with him. He made a mental note to thank YJ somehow. Not that he knew how to repay the taller, pink-haired Mage. It’s hard to put a monetary value on how fast the exchange went with the pickpocket and honestly, YJ probably could have walked out with both Beomgyu’s keys without any problem …except that the pickpocket recognized Beomgyu ( _“You got that Country air about you,” YJ had teased him once the chase started._ ) and that was the issue. Why did Beomgyu have be so handsome that even passerbys couldn’t forget him?

He frowned.

The frown vanished as his fingers trace the Gold Zodiac keys in his hand. The familiarity of its weight, its shape and its energy were enough to calm him down, even for a second. His friends were back home with him. That’s what he should focu—Beomgyu’s eyes darkened and narrowed at the commotion that started at the end of the passage.

“I know groping the walls and drawing love circles on them is one of your vices,” Beomgyu snided as he took a step back to stand next to YJ, “But those trolls and foul humans that you pissed off? Yeah, they’re here.” He gestured down the passage, expecting YJ’s gaze to go down there but the pink-haired Mage stayed focused on what was in front of him. “Hello?”

“You’re a Mage,” YJ said, “Do something.”

“What?”

“I’m busy breaking an entrapment charm. You’re just standing there admiring your keys,” YJ said as he paused from his work. He looked over at Beomgyu, “You’re a Celestial Mage. Do something.”

If there was one thing Beomgyu hated, it was whenever someone told him what to do. It didn’t matter if he _actually_ needed to do whatever was commanded. He hated whenever someone told him to do something.

“You’re the one who got us into this.” _No, Beomgyu was the one. YJ was just a random, kind stranger._ “You can--,” Beomgyu’s rant was ended when he felt YJ’s hand press against his chest. He felt YJ push him behind him. Beomgyu started at the back Yeonjun’s head stupidly – _WHAT?_

“Fine,” YJ said, his voice was filled with annoyance. For all the calm that Beomgyu had seen him be during these few minutes, annoyance was the last thing he expected from the pink-haired Mage. He had one ungloved hand pressed against the wall, holding the place of where he was in the entrapment spell release. The other gloved hand, he brought up to his lips. He lifted his middle finger to his lips, then bit down on the glove; he pulled his hand out of the glove and once his hand was out of the glove, he released it and let it fall to the ground.

Everyone had different kinds of Magic, Beomgyu knew this. He sensed it when felt Soobin’s Mana outside; he felt it from the bartender who used his Mana to start up the drink mixers; he felt it from the crowd of people that grew at the end of the passage. Who he didn’t feel it from at the start was this YJ. Confusion knitted itself into Beomgyu’s eyebrows, furrowed his expression as he looked over to the pink-haired mage. How could someone’s Mana not be felt?

“Stay back,” YJ’s eyes never turned to Beomgyu, but the warning was clear in Beomgyu’s ears. From the tips of YJ’s fingers, Beomgyu could see the sparks of Mana ( _Why couldn’t he sense this Mana? Was this a level of Magic that even Beomgyu couldn’t fathom?_ ); the Mana crackled as it materialized itself into a solid form. **Electric**.

In the snap of YJ’s fingers, the lightening that formed around his fingers rushed down the hall. Its speed burst as its snapped and crackled through the air before his landed in the center of the crowd. The collision slapped the thick air, broke the solidity of the silence and spread the people beside its unfortunate target around; it didn’t hit anyone directly but the sheer strength of whatever form of Mana YJ put into the thunder bolt was strong enough that half of the crowd after them was dispersed.

Then, he snapped again.

Another thunderbolt.

His fingers released a third snap.

A third thunderbolt.

YJ didn’t even break a sweat. After the third thunderbolt, he turned back to the entrapment charm he had been untangling. Beomgyu had never seen a Mage with such strong attack strength, not from his village. The closest was his father and brother who were able to use Elemental Earth Magic, but they couldn’t do what YJ just did. The Mages in the city were another level.

“Oh,” Beomgyu breathed out. He didn’t even realize that he had held his breath.

“Next round,” YJ said as he placed both of his hands on the wall. His task of untangling the charm would be faster with both hands now. He looked over at Beomgyu and winked, “It’s on you.”

 _How infuriating_.

There was no time to get mad. Not when there were angry Mages thundering down the hall now. Beomgyu’s voice sharpened before he threw his words at YJ, “Why are they so mad about us taking _my_ Keys back?”

YJ chuckled and said, “It’s that and a few other things. I’ll tell you when we get out. You have a crowd to handle now.”

As with every type of Mage category, every Celestial Mage had different techniques and different beliefs. It was normal for most Mages to have a working control with their Celestial Spirits; simply just leave at summoning and only that. Beomgyu had never been someone to follow the crowd. Especially when it came with his Spirits. They weren’t his Celestial Spirits to control, they were his friends – they were _family_. Every Celestial Spirit had their own personality and their own lives, treating them as anything less than living was stupid.

Beomgyu placed the Key of Aquarius in the palm of his hand. “O Key of Aquarius,” he spoke an incantation that resembled Halrak but lent itself to a more modern take. His thumb brushed against the craved symbol of Aquarius on the key; he brushed it once and then twice before his pressed his thumb to cover the symbol completely. “I offer you the livelihood of Mana, the energy to materialize. I ask that you lend to me your strength, your ambition and your vengeance in this battle so we can advance upon our enemy and kick their asses for trying to sell you for a measly bag of gold.” Normally, there were much fancier words and pretty phrases used to summon a Celestial Spirit – his mother always spoke with sweetness, light polite words with ‘pleases’ and ‘thank-yous’ tied to the end of each sentence to summon Aquarius. Beomgyu knew better than that. With his Mana flowing from his thumb into the key, Beomgyu’s fingers gripped the key before he stuck into the air and turned it.

As the key turned, a gust of cold air swept around and engulfed the air with its coldness. It was air, but it felt soft, almost water like. It spun until an unexplainable beauty emerged: soft features framed by long lashes and light blue hair, this Celestial Spirit was beautiful enough to entice those who looked upon her like the songs of sirens that drowned men and in her arms was a hand-crafted pot. She looked so ethereal that the people who had been chasing after them stopped in their tracks.

“Beomgyu,” Aquarius said with a smile. Most people would have loved to be on the receiving end of a smile that beautiful, but Beomgyu’s eyes widened as he watched her grip the mouth of the hand-crafted pot. “You almost lost me, you little brat,” her smiled widen but it felt like poison was dripping from her words. Without a second’s passing, he ran behind YJ and pushed him forward.

“ **ALMOST** ,” Beomgyu emphasized from behind YJ, “Almost but I didn’t.”

“I was stuffed into some asshole’s pocket, You almost lost me and Leo, you little rat.”

“Again,” Beomgyu smiled at YJ before he turned back to Aquarius, “But I didn’t, I got you both back and you’re both safe. So, I don’t see what the probl—”

Beomgyu couldn’t finish his sentence. The Water Bearer lifted her hand-crafted pot and drenched Beomgyu in water. She probably would have continued drowning her Mage if it were not for the sudden realization that there was a much stronger power with them.

When the water stopped pouring on Beomgyu, he blinked to see that YJ wasn’t soaked and that Aquarius was staring directly at the pink-haired man. He’d never seen Aquarius be so tamed in front of anyone, especially in front of another Mage – more often than not, she liked to show that Beomgyu wasn’t the one in charge. He looked at Aquarius, “Do you have a crush?”

An entire pot of water was thrown as a response.

YJ looked away from the wall and over at Aquarius. He nodded at her and she nodded back slowly; Beomgyu was bewildered by such a tame response. He turned his attention back to the wall. Beomgyu was so thrown off by this interaction. Aquarius was never this demure, not in front of anyone. Especially not in front of male Mages.

“Beomgyu,” Aquarius said, “You’re some kind of moron.”

“ _Your_ moron,” he smiled at her before he finally walked to the spot beside her, “But I need your help with that.” The crowd at the end of the hall grew. “YJ is getting rid of the entrapment charm. We need t—” Beomgyu couldn’t even finish his sentence before the rage that built up in Aquarius built up in her expression. He nodded and passed his Mana to her.

If there was one thing Beomgyu had learned over the years of summoning this particular spirit, it was that she was much stronger when she was free to do what she wanted. He let her know what he needed help with and it was up to her to do what she wanted. Aquarius was always stronger when she felt like it was her decision.

“How you doing on that charm untangling?” Beomgyu asked YJ. His eyes never leaving his favorite Celestial Spirit as she drowned their assailants.

* * *

“You know,” YJ said when they exited the building, “I’d never seen a Zodiac Spirit before.”

Beomgyu shrugged at him and said, “Consider this payment then. The Great, Handsome Beomgyu had allowed you to see the true power of a Celestial Mage and the Zodiac Spirits.” He grinned. He knew Celestial Summoning Mages were rare and being rare was a good thing, in Beomgyu’s opinion at least. He spun around and posed at YJ. There was smug grin that made itself home on Beomgyu’s face.

“Too bad, you’re not the brightest one,” YJ said as he rose his hand up. Beomgyu’s eyes narrowed as he counted one, two, three and four Gold Zodiac Keys, and two silver Celestial Keys. Now, the smug grin moved from Beomgyu’s face over to YJ’s. Beomgyu felt his heart drop – strangers really weren’t to be trusted, especially pink-haired ones from the city. “Four Gold Zodiac Keys. Finding a Mage with even just one is hard, but you had Four of them,” YJ said as he reached for the gold chain he wore around his neck. The gold chain had an interwoven thread, almost invisible. YJ strung the keys up on the gold chain.

Beomgyu’s hands balled into a fist as he watched the slightly taller boy string all of Zodiac keys onto the necklace. He felt stupid. It was almost as if he could hear his older brother scolding him for being too trusting. He bit his lip and the longer YJ said nothing, the harder Beomgyu bit his own lip. Though his eyes started to get blurred by these tears starting to form, Beomgyu tried to scan the area; he could make a plan somehow, right? He had to. That’s six keys. A frown came but he remembered – “Soobin is here,” he threatened, “He’s been waiting and if you don’t give me my keys back, he’ll be the one on your ass.”

YJ let out a laugh.

“Don’t laugh, I’m threatening you,” Beomgyu pointed at him accusingly.

“Few things wrong with that,” YJ said as he thumbed to the wall where Soobin was behind, “One, he’s probably asleep right now. It took us a few hours to collect your keys. Two, I have your keys.” He raised an annoying eyebrow toward Beomgyu, “Three, you don’t even know a fraction of what I could for you to be threatening me that boldly.” There was a glimmer challenge in his eyes, almost as if he was asking Beomgyu to just try it. Beomgyu had seen YJ snap three times and disperse an entire crowd with lightening without breaking a sweat – it didn’t even feel like he used Mana during that time.

Maybe Beomgyu could just grab the keys out of YJ’s hands and run. He was always known as the fastest person in his village. He could probably do it.

“And last but not least,” YJ said as he finally reached Beomgyu. That smirk deserved to be smacked off his stupid, pretty face. Beomgyu frowned and closed his eyes in defeat. What else did foolishly not account for? This was not how he wanted his first day in the city to go. “Don’t lose them again, _O Great Beomgyu_ ,” YJ teased as he put gold chain around Beomgyu’s neck, “Next time, I might not be there to help sneak you get them back.”

Okay, YJ’s smirk didn’t needed to be smacked off his face.

Beomgyu reached up and touched the keys now around his neck. His lithe fingers brushed against the gold chain that YJ had put them on. “You’re awful.”

“If you put a little of your Mana on that chain every morning, no one can take it off but you,” YJ explained as he stepped back from Beomgyu, “You need it more than I do. Gold Zodiac Keys are hard to find, Beomgyu. Don’t let anyone take them from you.” He nodded at Beomgyu and started to walk off, “I’ll come collect what you owe me next time.” He turned to Beomgyu and gave him a wink, “Look forward to it, Beomgyu.”

Stupid, pink-haired pretty boys.

* * *

“So, are you in love?” Soobin tilted his head to the side after he finished listening to Beomgyu recount the events of the previous night. Before he let Beomgyu give him an answer, Soobin laughed and stabbed his fork into the stack of pancakes. He shook his head and ate the slices of pancakes.

“Listen, Soobin,” Beomgyu responded as he took his turn to stab the pancakes, “You were no help with the thief thing or getting back my keys. _So_ , you have no room to talk about anything.”

Soobin shrugged with a mouthful of pancakes. “The quest got done and the requester paid for the services. That’s why we’re eating pancakes. It all worked out in the end, you know?”

Beomgyu’s eyes narrowed at the blue haired giant. He was far too nonchalant about the whole situation for Beomgyu’s liking – who could accept that the quest was done like _that_? City folk were weird. But the fact of the matter is, Beomgyu had all his keys back and they were all attached to his new necklace. His fingers reached for the gold chain. He gently brushed his thumb against it. _Stupid._

“Master will be happy that this is all taken care of, regardless of _how_ it was taken care of,” Soobin strung together excuses easily. He seemed to be too focused on eating the pancakes than making any real sense. Pancakes were a top priority, especially after that late night. He tilted his head left and right before looking at Beomgyu, “Thanks though. I appreciate you helping even though you were clearly only shelling out propositions for your own selfish gains.”

“At least, I did something. _You_ fell asleep behind the wall.”

“You said to wait for your signal. I got bored, so sue me,” Soobin retorted as he set his utensils down. He reached for the drink in front of him and chugged it, “Besides, now that I know you’re super, duper capable and resourceful, do you want to join the Guild I’m in?”

Just like that?

Beomgyu’s eyebrows knitted in confusion as he looked Soobin up and down. This nonchalant behavior was doing nothing but confusing Beomgyu. City folk really were weird. No one could have ever prepared him for the people. “No,” Beomgyu said flatly, “You haven’t even shown me what you can do. Why would I want to join some unknown Guild? Besides, I have only one Guild that I want to join and it’s not yours.”

Soobin’s laugh was annoying. Beomgyu frowned at him.

“Everyone says that,” Soobin smiled. It may have been annoying to Beomgyu, but there was a sense of pride in Soobin’s smile; a quiet, hushed pride that settled into his lips and curled them upward. His eyes flickered from Beomgyu to the pancakes and then back to Beomgyu before he nodded. “Why don’t you come with me to see my Guild?” Soobin asked again, “Honestly, I think you’ll be surprised.”

“Why? Because your Guild is full giant, dimpled devils who look like bunnies?” Beomgyu said flatly and then shrugged, “I don’t know if I can afford to go on an adventure with you when I don’t even know what you can do. I mean, you were _so_ helpful during my key rescue, you know?” He rose an eyebrow at Soobin.

_How good could a Guild be when they let someone like Soobin in?_

For all Beomgyu knew, Soobin might have been an excellent Mage but Beomgyu needed to see the Magic to believe it. It was ironic that in a world dominated by Magic, Beomgyu needed to someone’s Magic to fully understand it; believing it was usually enough for people but blind belief could lead into dangerous situations. He knew that all too well.

“You seemed like you had it handled,” Soobin shrugged, “And then your mysterious pink-haired Initials Man came out of nowh—”

Beomgyu threw a balled up napkin at Soobin.

Soobin signed and carried on, “But my Magic isn’t as flashy as Electricity or Celestial Summoning. It’s a little more quiet but it’s just as effective. Not all Magic needs to be flashy.” Soobin smiled at him and said, “If you go to my Guild with me, you’ll get to see my Magic. I mean, please? What else are you going to do in the city by yourself?”

There was a lot of things that Beomgyu could do in the city but did he want to do them alone? Beomgyu wasn’t sure. He looked away from Soobin and set his gaze dramatically to the window.

“Remember how I asked for 60% of your reward?” Beomgyu looked back Soobin, “I’m going to need 80% of it now.”


	2. Into the Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were many people who let their secrets get lost in the forest, but the moon keeps these secrets the best. 
> 
> When Beomgyu decided that he was going to travel into the city, he never expected to be thrown into a whirlwind of new adventures. From Sea Cows to Vivre Cards, Dark Guilds and a midnight rendezvous, nothing could have prepared Beomgyu for this journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year, friends. 
> 
> i present to you this new chapter. i enjoyed writing it, i hope you enjoy reading!

“You almost killed us! You almost killed _me_!! YOU. _ALMOST_. KILLED. **_ME_**.”

Beomgyu held no shame or embarrassment when it came to how loud his voice had gotten. His eyes were wide with bewilderment; shock veiled his frenzied brown eyes as he tried to focus his gaze on something, anything. _Soobin’s stupid blue hair_.

“Do you see my arm?” Beomgyu shouted as he half held up his right arm but pulled it back with a wince. He used his left hand to squeeze it, a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. When he tightened his grip on his arm, Beomgyu threw a glare over to Soobin, “Do you see it? _Do you_? It was almost ripped off by that animal you thought was ‘ _cute_ ’. I almost died because you couldn’t resist something cute.”

Beomgyu knew that his over-dramatic and loud yelling wasn’t going to help their situation. But, it made him feel better even if his voice made Soobin look like a kicked puppy.

“I know, I know,” Soobin apologized as he gestured for Beomgyu to sit down. Wearily, Beomgyu followed the dimpled-Mage’s command. When the dust of the cave floor settled after Beomgyu sat down, Soobin pressed his lips together and nodded. He gently reached for Beomgyu’s arm with one arm and held it in. With his free hand, Soobin dabbed a towel he’d drawn from his bag across Beomgyu’s arm as he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect to see an actual _Sea Cow_ on the way back to the Guild. I just got excited. I’m sorry I put you in danger, Beomgyu.”

The look in Soobin’s eyes made Beomgyu feel guilty.

“What the hell is a Sea Cow?” Beomgyu asked as he moved his arm so Soobin could clean his wound better. He didn’t think that he would have gotten a scar this early in his journey, but he expected that it would happen later.

Soobin laughed as he finished inspecting Beomgyu’s arm. His eyes warmed as he explained, “It’s basically a giant cow …but it’s in the sea? They’re more like whales, if I’m being honest. When Huening mentioned it to me, I didn’t think it was real. So, I got really excited when I saw it.” Soobin shook his head and said, “Remember how you were asking about my kind of Magic?”

Beomgyu nodded slowly, but skeptically. “… now’s a weird time to show off your Magic.”

“No, it’s actually the right time,” Soobin said as he set the towel down. With his now free hand, the warmth of his Mana started to emit from its palm. He didn’t say any spells or incantation, he just let his Mana flow from his palm. “My Magic is a little more quieter than yours,” Soobin explained to the younger Mage. Once his palm was engulfed in his Mana, he pressed it to Beomgyu’s cut.

Beomgyu blinked a few times.

Magic and Mana had different uses in this world. Battle Magic is often the most talked about practice due to its destructive nature, but there were other practices of Magic. Some Mages used their abilities for archival purposes; some use their strengths for agricultural and harvesting; others utilize it for enhancement of lives; others, like Soobin, were able to use their strength to heal. Back in his village, there was an elder who was a healer – Beomgyu visited him only once and came out more sore than healed, but with Soobin’s abilities …

Beomgyu blinked a few more times.

“Thanks,” Beomgyu said with sincerity. That wound was gone. Soobin’s Mana sealed the wound to almost complete perfection, as if Beomgyu didn’t even get bitten by the Sea Cow. He took his arm away from Soobin and gently ran his finger across where the wound was – _smooth_. “Huh,” Beomgyu didn’t have any smart-aleck remarks to make.

Soobin smiled, “Master helped me learn how to heal better. I used to be so awful at it. Once, I tried to heal Taehyun but accidentally grew him an extra arm and he literally put me in a card for a whole day. Like sealed me in one.” His laugh rang through the cave that they were sat at.

“I have a question,” Beomgyu looked over at the Healer, “You went to try and catch a pickpocket with your healing powers? What were you going to do? Overdose him with vitamin C?”

“You know,” Soobin said as he pinched Beomgyu’s nose, “You could just say, ‘ _Thank you so much for healing my arm, Soobin. You are such a nice guy_ ,’ especially since I could have just let you bleed.” Although Soobin said, as long as he is able to heal someone, he’d never let them stay hurt. The choices a person made shaped the life they lived and Soobin has never regretted the life he lived.

“No wonder you found the handsomest stranger you could find and dragged them into your weird Quest,” Beomgyu stood up from where he had sat and started to dust off his pants. He adjusted his backpack strap as he grinned with a smug expression, “Admit it, you wouldn’t get anywhere without me, you dimpled devil.”

Soobin sighed as he stood up. There were different ways he could have responded to Beomgyu’s smugness but he shrugged. “Oh, I see,” he said as he also dusted off his pants, “I guess, I need you really much. We’re getting along so well now ~ and that why I need you to help me get back to my Guild. Or else, I’ll be eaten by a Sea Cow.”

Teasing Soobin wasn’t fun when he went along with it. Beomgyu frowned and rolled his eyes.

“Healing’s one part of my Magic,” Soobin finally said, “There’s another part to it.” His eyes flickered before they darkened. A momentary wave of silence washed over him as he started out of the cave, “I just don’t like that part. It’s not very cute. I hope I won’t have to use it any time soon.”

People from the city held too many secrets, Beomgyu decided. They held secrets and then briefly mentioned it with the expectation that someone wouldn’t be interested …but Beomgyu’s curiosity leant itself to feline tendencies. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but satisfaction will bring it back. Soobin might not want to share right now, but Beomgyu decided he’ll pull out of him eventually.

“Okay,” Beomgyu jogged to catch up to Soobin, “Hurry up and take me to your Guild.” He pressed his hands on Soobin’s back and said, “You’re supposed to know how to get there. So, hurry up and lead the way.” Beomgyu’s attempt to push Soobin forward failed as Soobin leaned back into him. Soobin put his full weight on Beomgyu’s hands to stop him from pushing. Not being one to let someone take charge of him, Beomgyu pulled his arms back to himself and watched as Soobin’s limbs scrambled to try and grab the air. Ultimately, Soobin hit the ground and Beomgyu squatted down next to him, “What the fuck are you doing?”

Soobin sat up and clasped his hands together. “So, you remember how you asked for 80% of the reward earlier?” He began and then turned to Beomgyu, “What if I just give you all of it?”

Beomgyu’s face fell flat. He rolled his so painfully slow that he could have cast an entire spell if he wanted to. He licked his bottom lip in annoyance before he reached over and smacked the back of Soobin’s’ head. “Are you telling me that you don’t know how to get back to your own Guild?” His eyes widened with fury and only _after_ he smacked Soobin a second time did the fury start to wane. He took a deep breath and said, “How do you not know how to get back to your own Gu—is it because of the Sea Cow?”

There was a pregnant pause between the two of them.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Beomgyu shouted at Soobin. He let out the most exasperated sigh before he buried his hands into his hands. How did he end up in this situation? Why did he have to agree to go with this blue-haired, dimple-devil for? _Pretty smiles were hard to resist_. There was a growing growl in the back of his throat as he closed his eyes and tried to figure out what to do.

“I like cute things,” Soobin said so nonchalantly that Beomgyu almost threw the keys around his neck at him. The keys were too precious to throw.

“And I like _not_ being lost!” Beomgyu shouted in frustration, “Get us out of this forest. _Now._ ”

Though, if Beomgyu were honest, not being in the city was much more his pace. The city was too busy, too full of people and too noisy to even hear himself think. He liked the quiet calm that the forest gave – home was similar to this silence. Not that he would admit it to Soobin. That satisfaction wasn’t going to be given to Soobin. Not for free.

“Okay, okay,” Soobin raised his hands up toward Beomgyu in defeat. He swung his bag in front of him and fumbled around inside of it. After a few moments of shuffling through all of his things, Soobin showed Beomgyu a small blank piece of paper. He must have sensed the skepticism in Beomgyu’s expression. Those dimples showed themselves as Soobin smiled. He put the piece of paper between his index finger and his thumb before he released some of his Mana into it. The transfer of Mana sparked the paper and gave it life. “Vivre Card,” Soobin explained, “Master insisted that we always take a piece of it before we go off to do quests. You put a little bit of your Mana in it and it’ll tell you where you need to go.”

Beomgyu stayed quiet as he watched Soobin use the Vivre Card.

He’d read about those cards before. The page Soobin tore it out of must have been tethered to a location by a very powerful Mage. Maybe he made too quick of a judgement about Soobin’s Guild, after all.

After Soobin transferred his Mana into the paper, he opened his palm up and the paper hovered above it. It gently edged toward the right of Soobin’s palm. He looked up at Beomgyu and smiled, “See, no problem. We’ll be at my Guild in no time.”

It unsettled Soobin that Beomgyu had been so quiet.

Beomgyu took his backpack off and held the straps in one hand. He pulled that hand back, swung the backpack and threw it at Soobin. “I’m taking 100% of your reward and charging you interest for the amount of stress you’ve throwing me into,” Beomgyu announced.

“Don’t worry, Beomgyu,” Soobin nodded before he kicked Beomgyu’s backpack aside, “It’ll be worth it when we get to the Guild. That I can guarantee you.”

* * *

“So,” Beomgyu decided that the sound of only their footsteps against the gravel was annoying. He glanced over at Soobin, “Hueningkai.” He said just the name as he glanced over to Soobin, “You mentioned his name like fifty times during our brand new, unfortunate, adventure.”

Soobin nodded but kept his eyes on the Vivre Card. He shrugged his shoulder toward Beomgyu and said, “He’s a Guildmate. I’ve done a lot of missions with him, so we’re pretty close. Him, me and Taehyun _usually_ go on Quests together but Taehyunnie got asked to help on a higher class mission. Hueningkai ended up getting asked to do a different Quest, it revolved around containing an animal. Hyuka’s Beast Soul Magic was needed for it. You know …”

As Soobin’s excitement about his favorite Guildmates came out in his obvious storytelling, Beomgyu wondered if he would ever have the chance to join a Guild and make friends like Soobin. He swore that he would only join the BH Guild but hearing and seeing the excitement Soobin had about his Guild and his Guildmates inspired a jealousy that Beomgyu didn’t think he’d have.

“What about your mystery pink-haired Mage?” Soobin’s question chimed through Beomgyu’s thoughts. At the question, Beomgyu punched Soobin’s arm. “What the heck was that for?” Soobin cried out.

“Instinct.”

Soobin rolled his eyes as he walked on. He gestured to the left – the Vivre Card veered its direction in Soobin’s palm. He rolled his eyes at Beomgyu, “Instinct.” A snort followed, “You’re so touchy about it. Maybe you are in love.”

“No, that’s not love. I just want to smack that smug smirk off his face,” Beomgyu decided aloud, “Besides, I’ve decided I’m not interested in men who go by initials. I also have an aversion to the color pink.” He lied, but he paused, “Have you ever seen someone cast Magic that you couldn’t feel their Mana?”

“No?” Soobin’s response was filled with confusion. The taller Mage blinked a few times and looked at Beomgyu, “What do you mean cast Magic but you couldn’t feel their Mana?”

Beomgyu raised his hand in front of him and snapped his fingers – once, twice and a third time. “He did that and every time he snapped a finger, a really strong thunderbolt came out and hit the crowd after us. I couldn’t feel his Mana.” He frowned at the thought. He swore he felt YJ’s Mana when he traced the entrapment charm on the wall – the sigils were all brightly lit – but he couldn’t remember if he did. As he fell deeper into thought, Beomgyu bit the side of his cheek, “Usually, when people do big attacks, you can feel their Mana. Like you can feel their Magic.”

Beomgyu could recall the way his family’s Magic felt. His mother’s was always soft, quiet but warm like a spring shower; it came slowly but wrapped you in it. His father’s Magic was strong, solid and unrelentless; it was came fast but firm, something that you knew you could rely on. His brother’s Magic was rapid, surprising and sure; it always took him by surprise but never left him afraid. Soobin’s Magic felt fluffy, honest and loving; Beomgyu decided that Soobin was someone that could be trusted.

“I couldn’t feel his Magic,” Beomgyu admitted, “But when I summoned Aquarius, she wouldn’t even throw water on him. I mean, she nearly drowned me as per usual, but she had this weird …respect? Fear? I don’t know.”

Soobin didn’t reply to Beomgyu, not immediately. His brows furrowed deeper with each step he took as he walked on ahead. His lips twisted in thought before he turned to Beomgyu and said, “I’ve only felt that from three other Mages and they were Dragon Slayers.”

At the mention of Dragon Slayers, Beomgyu’s eyes sharpened in Soobin’s direction. Whenever Dragon Slayers were mentioned, there were always three names attached to it: _Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi and Jung Hoseok_. Just the thought of them filled Beomgyu’s eyes with excitement.

It was a known fact that regular Magic couldn’t kill Dragons. There were many Mages who tried and unfortunately, those Mages had all been laid to rest. However, there were a special breed of Mages known as Dragon Slayers. There’s a lot of misconception about Dragon Slayers and their origin – most people are skeptical about them _actually_ being raised by Dragons. However, the one fact that no one would protest is that Dragon Slayers are some of the strongest Mages in the world.

“You should have asked him when he gave you his necklace,” Soobin restarted the teasing at Beomgyu, “You could have bat your pretty eyelashes and asked, ‘ _Are you a Dragon Slayer_?’ and he’d probably answer. Since, you know, you’re in love.”

Beomgyu looked at Soobin and asked, “How many bruises do you think I can cause you before we get to your Guild?”

* * *

Night fell much faster than Beomgyu expected. Back in his village, he could always tell when the day was ready to tuck into based on the smell. Today, they walked so far that Beomgyu swore he forgot how to smell. He was tired, more tired than he imagined tired could be …yet, even if he was tired, he couldn’t bring himself to fall asleep. His brain was racing a million miles an hour.

Beomgyu laid in his sleep bag with his eyes wide open. He stared at the constellations above them and then gently turned his head to look over at Soobin. He wasn’t sure how Soobin fell asleep as fast as he did or as calmly as he did. Aside from his unrelentless mind, Beomgyu felt as though there were too many openings in the forest. Enemies could attack at any moment.

There was no way he could sleep.

“Okay,” he whispered as he crawled out of his sleeping bag. With a gentle glance at Soobin, Beomgyu decided he could take a quick walk. Unfortunately, the Celestial Mage would feel guilty if he left Soobin on his own. He reached for one of his Silver Celestial Keys and placed it in the center of his palm. The flow of his Mana entered the key as he spoke, “O Key of Puma, embodiment of strength and speed, I humbly ask you to come forth and assist my desire.” When his Mana’s transfer finished, Beomgyu wrapped his fingers around the key and stuck in the air. As he turned the key, the warrior Puma materialized in front of him. The Spirit of the Puma stood tall and proud. “Puma,” Beomgyu smiled, “You always look so angry when you materialize.”

“I’m trying to be intimidating,” The Spirit spoke with a heavy voice as he grinned at Beomgyu, “It works almost all the time. You’re just used to me.”

“You’re right,” Beomgyu admitted. He smiled and asked, “I need you to stand guard for a little bit.” He thumbed over to Soobin and told Puma, “Can you make sure that he’s still alive and in one piece when I get back. I have a lot on my mind. I just need a little bit of time for a walk.”

* * *

It hadn’t even been two days into his life-altering journey and Beomgyu was already whisked away from the city. He was headed to somewhere he didn’t know with someone he just met. Sure, Soobin had been nice enough but Beomgyu found himself feel nervous, anxious about this whole thing. Was he just an idiot? Most people wouldn’t have jumped into anything like this. Maybe he should have stayed in the city.

He remembered the letters that his friends who left before him sent. So many of them had such a boring first week, first month even, in the city. Yet, here was Beomgyu. His world was rocked by so many immediate circumstances that he never could have accounted for. He sighed as he pressed his back against a random tree.

“Damn,” was all he could mutter as he rewound the events in his head again. What was he even doing? He had a goal. This felt like he got wrapped up into a side quest that no one asked for. Why di—Beomgyu’s mind stopped being so loud the moment he heard the rustle of leaves and branches. The crinkle of their trees broke his anxious mind. Without hesitation, Beomgyu’s hand reached for the Celestial Summoning Keys around his neck.

The problem about being in the forest at night was that anything could happen.

“If you’re looking for a fight,” Beomgyu spoke, clear and sharp. Most people assumed due to his delicate frame, he’d be easy to take down but with Magic, everything was levelled. “You’ll regret starting one with me, I can promise you that.”

There was annoyance in waiting. Why were there so many people who interrupted his few moments alone? Sometimes, a guy just needed to sort out his mind. He bit the side of his cheek as he waited for something to come out. His fingers reached for one of the Gold Zodiac keys, just in case.

“ _Who said I want to fight you_?”

Beomgyu knew that voice. His eyes lost their sharpness at the figure that emerged from the thick of the forest. Stupid, pretty, pink-haired men were dangerous. However, Beomgyu didn’t drop the grip his hand had on his keys … _just in case_. There was an attempt to look angry, but his lips betrayed him as they formed a gentle smile.

“Why are you still stalking me?” Beomgyu rose an eyebrow as YJ came into view of the moon’s light. _Stupid_. He tilted his head to the side as he inspected the other’s face; _stupid, so stupid_. “I know I’m unforgettable and all, I am the Great and Handsome Beomgyu, but that’s no reason to go stalking me all the way into a forest, _YJ_. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a crush on me.”

He wasn’t sure where this boldness came from but once words were spoken, it was hard to take them back.

“You’re right,” the pink-haired Mage’s answer sealed with his smile made Beomgyu’s ears turn red. _Stupid, stupid – so, so stupid_. A soft laugh came from him, “I had a quest to finish nearby.” _Of course, he’d be doing a quest. Any Guild would want someone that strong_. He shrugged and winked at Beomgyu, “It took a little longer than I expected it to, but I guess the timing made it easier for me to run into the Great and _Handsome_ Beomgyu.” The way YJ’s eyes scanned Beomgyu made him feel smaller than he was. He stopped scanning the Celestial Mage and rose an eyebrow, “You look like shit.”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes, “I’m traveling with Soobin to his Guild.”

“Oh, your boyfriend is taking you to meet your in-laws already? That’s bold of you,” YJ said as he set his bag on the ground with a soft thud. He stretched his arms upward and released a yawn, “Most people don’t go straight into meeting their in-laws so quickly.” After he finished stretching, he reached for his bag and swung it over his shoulder.

Without hesitation, Beomgyu denied everything that YJ said. He wasn’t sure why he was so defensive around YJ. “He’s not my boyfriend! And I’m not even going to join his Guild. It’s not the one I want to join. I want to join the BH Guild!” Beomgyu watched as YJ’s ears twitched, a soft brush of pink rubbed itself against them – _That isn’t adorable, don’t say it is._ “Soobin hasn’t even told me his Guild’s name yet,” Beomgyu admitted, “So, I don’t think he’s part of the BH Guild. Are you in one? You probably are.”

“Nah,” YJ admitted, “Solo. But I’ve gotten the invitations.”

 _Why did he keep surprising him_? Beomgyu was told that most Mages immediately look for a Guild to join. There was power in numbers, especially when it came to Magic. Rarely did any Mages work on their own; solo work must have been hard to do …though, if Beomgyu remembered correctly, YJ was more than capable of doing solo work.

“Isn’t it lonely traveling by yourself?” Beomgyu wasn’t sure why his mouth was moving on its own and asking stupid questions. His brain tried to catch up and clean up the messy trails. “Isn’t it hard being on your own the whole time?”

YJ smirked, “Why? Do you want to travel with me? Are you sure you can leave your boyfriend on his own like that?”

“I already told you,” Beomgyu looked at him, “He’s no—”

“I know, I know. He’s not your boyfriend,” YJ laughed. There was a slight shade of tiredness in his eyes – _it must have been a difficult quest_ , Beomgyu decided, _especially if YJ was that tired._ The pink-haired Mage leaned back against the close tree trunk. He stood across from Beomgyu and folded his arms, that all-too familiar smug smirk was on his face.

“Why are you making that face?” Beomgyu snapped at him.

“Nothing. I just like your necklace.”

 _Stupid, you gave it to me_. Beomgyu frowned at him. He was sure YJ was teasing him. He tried to figure out some excuse but ultimately gave up, “It’s just convenient. No one can take my keys without me knowing.”

A wave of silence dawned on them.

While YJ leaned against the tree and closed his eyes, Beomgyu scanned the other Mage. He wondered how someone’s lips could look that soft and that pink in the moonlight? Beomgyu gently stepped forward, maybe he could get a better look. The moment he took a step, YJ’s eyes opened.

“You should get back to Soobin,” YJ said calmly but that annoyed Beomgyu. Beomgyu stepped forward to meet YJ. He looked dead in his eyes and poked his chest, “Stop pushing me to date Soobin, I literally just met him. I’m not easily swayed.” Beomgyu wasn’t sure why his defensiveness kept increasing at this.

“I’m not saying anything about you dating him. I’m telling you to becau--,” YJ didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he grabbed Beomgyu by the arm and pull him to his chest. Beomgyu’s eyes widened as his face flushed in color. The Celestial Mage started to sputter a few words, but stopped when YJ pushed him against the trunk of a tree. YJ pressed his finger to Beomgyu’s lips, “Someone’s there.”

Beomgyu nodded and decided this would be a good time to follow this order. Besides …his eyes looked over to the other Mage pressed against him, it wasn’t that bad.

* * *

There were very few times when Beomgyu could remember his heart beating this fast. The first time was when he got lost in the market – he was only four and he didn’t know what to do without his mom. The second time was when _the_ Park Jimin saved him from the Dark Guild. The third time was when he nearly died retrieving the Gold Zodiac Key of Leo; the fourth and fifth time was when he rescued the Gold Zodiac Keys of Gemini and Pisces.

The way his heart was beating right now wasn’t anything like those times.

Hushed murmurs came through the thick of the forest. There were footsteps – loud, heavy and rushed as they broke the scattered branches on the floor. _They sound frantic_.

“ _How the fuck did we lose him? He’s literally florescent_ ,” Beomgyu heard a voice hiss in annoyance. He looked over at YJ’s hair; pink was a good color on him. He moved his eyes away from the other Mage’s hair and onto the strained expression: brows furrowed, eyes narrowed and his lips twisted in concentration. “ _If we catch him, I swear I’m going to scalp him_ ,” Beomgyu heard the same voice threaten, _“Who the fuck has pink hair?_ ”

“ _I mean, the Prince has blue hair. So, why are you surprised at pink?_ ”

The voices started to argue amongst each other. Beomgyu made a not to ask if Soobin was the Prince they were talking about. His thoughts were jolted when he felt YJ press closer against him. With the lack of space between them, Beomgyu swore he could hear YJ’s heartbeat. He rested a hand on YJ’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze; his eyes looked at YJ’s, an attempt to tell him to relax.

“ _Yeonjun is a menace_ ,” a voice whispered.

Yeonjun.

_Yeonjun._

**Yeonjun**.

Beomgyu blinked each time he said the name in his head. YJ’s real name was Yeonjun. The pursuants started to argue about the different ways they want to capture Yeonjun and feed him to a Dragon or a Cerberus, but Beomgyu never moved on from the name: Yeonjun.

“ _He must have left already_ ,” one of the voices chimed in, “ _The slimy piece of shit is always so fast at getting away._ ”

“ _I can’t even detect his Mana. I don’t know why Master is so interested in him_.” If he was asked, Beomgyu could have listed a lot of reasons why someone would be so interested in Yeonjun. “ _Whatever, let’s go. Let’s let Master know that Yeonjun already left. We’ll have to just find him tomorrow and get the scrolls back._ ”

A few minutes had passed before Yeonjun finally free Beomgyu from the sudden embrace. He stepped back and cleared his throat, “You okay?”

“Yes,” Beomgyu said before he added, “ _Yeonjun_.”

Yeonjun, formally YJ, rolled his eyes at Beomgyu. He shrugged and said, “If you asked what YJ meant, I would have told you. It’s not exactly the biggest secret I have.” Secrets and Magic went hand in hand; Beomgyu was sure that Yeonjun’s secrets ran much deeper than the ones that he had. “I’ll take care of those guys when morning’s light is out,” he said and then nodded at Beomgyu, “Let me walk you back to your campsite. Those dumbasses might turn back. Can’t let the Great and Handsome Beomgyu get attacked, you know.”

As much as Beomgyu wanted to flirt back, the questions in the back of his mind stopped him. He folded his arms over his chest and stared at Yeonjun. _Who was this guy_? “Who were those guys?” Beomgyu asked slowly, “What did you take from them? Why is their Guild Master interested in you?”

The series of expressions that went across Yeonjun’s face was a sight to see. Beomgyu’s harsh gaze softened, just slightly. He didn’t move from where he stood. He waited for Yeonjun to respond. _If he’s honest, he could still trust him_. _If he lies, then he’ll throw the necklace chain away_.

“They’re a Dark Guild,” Yeonjun revealed, “The Quest I mentioned earlier was to take scrolls from them. After our late-night adventure, the other night, I was given this Quest by the King. The Dark Guilds have started to rise and grow in numbers. So, Quests like this have started become common.” Yeonjun frowned. His eyes scanned the ground and flickered back over to Beomgyu, “It’s a Location Scroll, S-Class. It leads to something that Dark Guilds shouldn’t have access to.” The pink haired Mage reached for his bag and withdrew the scrolls to show Beomgyu. He flashed them for a little bit before he put them back, “They were highly guarded. I had to pretend to _want_ to join their Guild. Don’t worry, I’ve no Guild Markings on me. You can check me yourself, if you’re interested.” The added wink at the end made Beomgyu blush at the implication.

Beomgyu wasn’t going to throw the necklace away.

“You may walk me back to my campsite,” Beomgyu decided as he walked past Yeonjun. Unlike Soobin, Beomgyu had a much better sense of direction. As he backtracked his steps, he looked over to Yeonjun, “You really should join a Guild though. Protection against those Dark Guilds.”

Yeonjun walked alongside Beomgyu and hummed as he shrugged. He seemed too tired to respond as he usually did. There was a rise of guilt as Beomgyu realized that Yeonjun hadn’t been able to rest or recover since they ran into each other. Beomgyu wasn’t sure what to say as they approached the light of the campfire. Puma was still there, arms folded and on guard. And Soobin? Beomgyu was jealous of the blue-haired Mage who was still asleep.

“Beomgyu,” Yeonjun said as he reached for Beomgyu’s shoulder. At the touch of his hand, Beomgyu froze before he turned around. Yeonjun leaned in, those stupid pink lips closer than Beomgyu wanted. “If you find a good Guild to join, I’ll follow after you,” his voice brushed its heat against Beomgyu’s ears. “I’ll see you around, Beomgyu,” he said again as Beomgyu instinctively followed his voice.

There was a split second where Beomgyu closed his eyes, but that was all Yeonjun needed.

A soft gasp barely left Beomgyu’s lips before Yeonjun closed the gap between them. It was brief, just a fleeting moment but Beomgyu felt those stupid, pink lips pressed against his. At this point, Beomgyu felt the heat rise within his cheeks.

“Something to remember me by until next time.”

Stupid, pink-haired, pretty boys.

* * *

“Okay!” Soobin shouted at Beomgyu. He threw his hands up in the air in defeat, “Are you mad at me or something? You’ve been weirdly quiet. Like, I’ve only known you for three days or so and you’ve never been quiet. You even talk in your sleep. Like, the only time I _don’t_ hear you talking is when _I_ ’m asleep.”

Beomgyu looked at Soobin and blinked a few times before he asked, “Are you the Prince?”

Soobin brought his hands down, the Vivre Card still in his right hand. He blinked a few times at Beomgyu before he started to laugh, “No. I’m not the Prince. You’re silly. I’m literally in a Guild. No member of Royalty is part of a Guild.”

“Oh, good,” Beomgyu said, “I heard the Prince had blue hair, so I just wanted to make sure.” He nodded and smirked, “No, I can go back to torturing you.”

“That’s why you were quiet? That’s funny.” Soobin said and then let out a dry laugh before he looked back at him, “Where did you hear that from?”

“Yeonj—YJ mentioned it to me,” Beomgyu tripped over his words and shrugged, “I just wanted to double-check with you. I don’t like the idea of me hitting a prince with my backpack and stuff.”

Soobin pointed at Beomgyu accusingly. “You had a secret rendezvous last night? Is that why that Cat Man was there and you were gone? Beomgyu, you sly dog you.” He grinned, “Please introduce me next time. I want to meet your secret boyfriend.”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes. His defensiveness didn’t come out in words this time. Though, he decided that he was tired of this conversation. He ran up next to Soobin and reached for the Vivre Card, “I’ll lead the way. You’re taking too long to get us to your Guild.”


	3. Into the Guild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a lower-ranked Quest, but nothing seemed to ever go according to plan. Not for Beomgyu. There were consequences to being the Main Character and unfortunately, Beomgyu was starting to feel all of them. It was at these moments where Beomgyu realized why the friends that left to go into the city always came back; he was tired, he ready to spend an entire day in bed without any movement ...if he could survive this. He better survive this.

Of all the things Beomgyu expected Soobin’s Guild to be, this was 100% not what expected.

The Celestial Mage stood in front of the Guild House’s gates. If his mouth could open any further, Beomgyu was certain that it would have hit the floor by now. With unblinking eyes, Beomgyu tried to take in the glorious Guild House in front of him.

 _Impossible_.

Was he allowed to cry? Beomgyu wondered if he should.

“This is the Guild,” Soobin quickly realized the overflowing emotions from the shorter Mage. He put an arm around Beomgyu and gave him a grin, “This is the BH Guild.”

For all the shit that Beomgyu had given to Soobin, he never expected them to land right in front of the Guild that he had been dreaming about for so long. There were so many stories of the Mages that walked through these halls, specifically the endless stories of the Seven Virtues of BH. While Beomgyu expected that he would eventually end up at the halls of the BH Guild, he couldn’t even fathom getting here this quickly.

Of all the teasing Beomgyu did while he travelled with Soobin, he was thankful that Soobin didn’t throw it all back at him. At least, not yet.

“Come on,” Soobin said as he squeezed Beomgyu’s shoulder. “Want to meet the family?”

All Beomgyu could do was nod his head slowly.

* * *

There had been many stories that circulated about the BH Guild. All of the stories made them so serious, so intense. Like most of the people that knew them by these stories, Beomgyu had placed them on the highest pedestal and labeled them as untouchable. They were all expressed as fantastic Mages with powers that were beyond anything that words could describe. The articles painted them as Mages carved by the hands of Gods but failed to disclose much else about them as people.

“… is this a normal thing?” Beomgyu whispered to Soobin. He looked over to Soobin before looking back at the spectacle in front of them.

“You’ll get used to it,” Soobin laughed.

Park Jimin was exactly the way Beomgyu remembered him – the embodiment of Grace, agile beyond measure and the slightest bit of playfulness in his eyes. This was the first time he had ever seen Kim Taehyung but he hoped it wouldn’t be the last; the man was so beautiful that Beomgyu wondered if he’d been blessed with a spell of glamor. The stories of Jimin and Taehyun often painted a story of soul-mates, partners that could trounce anything that came to them as long as they were together.

… but what Beomgyu saw in front of him was anything but seamless partnership.

“I told you that we’ll eat it _after_ ,” Jimin shouted. He rose a hand up and snapped his fingers – at the snap of his fingers, a casting circle emerged. Beomgyu blinked surprise onto his expression; that was such a fast cast that Beomgyu had a hard time processing it. “After is after,” Jimin repeated as his Mana poured into the casting circle. A swirl of air centered around Jimin’s hand filled the Guild Hall. His eyes were on Taehyung.

“I’m hungry now,” Taehyung explained, “I’m going to eat now.”

“After.”

“Now.”

“ _After_.”

“ ** _Now._** ”

The argument volleyed between the two, a back and forth that went on until the air Jimin built aimed at Taehyung. Beomgyu’s eyes widened as he almost jumped to his feet, but Soobin put a hand on him. He shook his head and Beomgyu sat back down.

The air that Jimin summoned never hit its target – Taehyung lifted his right foot in the air, then slammed it down. A pillar of Earth rose the moment his foot made its connection with the ground. The Earth didn’t shift, even with the strength of the gust that Jimin threw at him. Honestly, Beomgyu couldn’t keep up with the succession of events between these two legendary Mages. After he blinked a few times, the two of them were already in a fight across the Guild Hall.

“Shouldn’t we stop them?” Beomgyu asked Soobin, worry in his voice. “Aren’t they going to get hurt?”

Soobin shook his head. “You’ll get hurt if you step in,” he said with a shrug, “They always do this. Be glad that Jungkook and Jin aren’t here right now. It’s a lot of fun when all of the Virtues are here, but the others on Quests right now.” The smile on Soobin’s face was filled with fondness. He put his arm back around Beomgyu’s shoulders and began to guide him, “You can meet them later. First, I’ll introduce you to our Guild Master and ask him to let you join the Guild.”

* * *

“A Celestial Mage?” Bang Si-hyuk looked up at Beomgyu from behind his desk. He set down the scrolls in front of him, his attention being completely given to the Beomgyu. His eyes were warmer than Beomgyu expected – for a man with the nickname of Hitman Bang, he seemed to be filled so much kindness that Beomgyu was starting to think the name was wrong. “That’s rare,” he said as he smiled, “It seems you’ve taken good care of our Soobin.”

Beomgyu looked over at Soobin, who gave him a thumbs up. “Yeah,” Beomgyu said, “I just helped him out a little bit. I needed to get my keys back from that pickpocket.” The pickpocket event seemed so far away, but it only happened a few days ago – time didn’t make sense on adventure.

Of all the stories that Beomgyu had heard about Hitman Bang, he realized that this was the first time that he had actually seen the man. In fact, all the stories that he had heard and read about the BH Guild seemed short of the actuality of the Guild. Someone once said that you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but Beomgyu sat in front of the founder of the BH Guild. Normally, his charm of verbal vomit would have happened but right now, his brain was preoccupied in reminding him to breathe.

“Hey, Master Bang,” Soobin’s voice was a welcomed distraction to the current turmoil in Beomgyu’s mind. The blue hair Mage put a hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder and said, “You should let him join the Guild. He’s a really good Mage and a really fun person.” However, the next thing that Soobin said surprised Beomgyu, “I trust him. He watched out for me. Even when he didn’t have to.”

Bang Si-Hyuk rose a hand and Soobin went quiet. The man whose eyes were warm seemed to pierce through Beomgyu’s soul. Beomgyu couldn’t even tell what the man was thinking. “Celestial Mages are rare in the city,” he finally spoke and gestured to the keys that hung on Beomgyu’s necklace, “Four Gold Zodiac keys, two Silver Summon keys and a very rare, _S-Class_ ranked Chain of Attachment. Good choice by the way. With enough Mana, no one can take that away from where it hangs …even if its user passes. That’s the sign of a good Celestial Mage.”

 _S-Class ranked?_ Beomgyu hadn’t given the chain much thought, except that it was from Yeonjun. If the Chain of Attachment was S-Ranked …did that mean Yeonjun was an S-Class Mage? It would make sense. Aquarius had never reacted so submissive to anyone.

“So,” and there it was, the question that Beomgyu never thought that he would ever hear, “ **Do you want to join the BH Guild**?”

* * *

If Beomgyu was honest, he was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a welcome ceremony with fanfare and banquets. Regardless of that waning disappointment, Beomgyu was now an official member of the BH Guild.

“Ta-daaaaa,” Soobin’s voice chimed in as he placed a very poorly baked cake in front of Beomgyu. There was exactly one uncentered candle on it, “A congratulatory cake for Choi Beomgyu, our newest guildmate!”

The sentiment was sweet, of course. Soobin was exactly that: a sweet person. However, while Soobin was a sweet person, Beomgyu was not someone who gave out free compliments.

“You didn’t have to,” Beomgyu said as he pushed the cake forward, away from him, “You _really_ didn’t have to. I’m allergic to cake.”

“Okay, I’ll take it back,” Soobin reached for the cake without question. “I’ll eat it.”

Beomgyu frowned and snatched the cake back, “You can’t it’s mine.”

“I thought you were allergic.”

“I’m allergic to your satisfaction,” Beomgyu said as he looked back at the cake. The single lopsided candle stared at him and Beomgyu closed his eyes. His older brother said that making wishes on candles was a fool’s bet but Beomgyu believed in wishes and magic. A fool was happy and right now, Beomgyu didn’t mind being a little foolish. His eyes remained closed as he made his silent wish. Once the wish was uttered, Beomgyu opened his eyes and blew out the candle. The cake made a soft squish when he stabbed it with the nearest fork. “If it tastes gross, I’m spitting it on you,” he announced. Luckily for Soobin, it tasted better than it looked.

Without hesitation, Soobin clapped his hands together in excitement. He was far _too_ pleased for Beomgyu’s liking but he was the reason Beomgyu joined his dream guild.

“So, what happened to Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung?” Beomgyu asked as he looked around the hall. From what he could recall, they were launching non-friendly Magic at each other with full gusto but the guildhall seemed untouched. “Did they settle their fight?”

Soobin laughed, “You’re going to have to get used to that. We get a little … _rowdy_? No, no. We get down-right _stupid_ rowdy sometimes but it’s all in good fun!” He shrugged as he looked around the hall; everything that his eyes scanned over seemed to have a story that Soobin knew and Beomgyu would learn later on. “I think they took a new Quest,” Soobin glanced past Beomgyu.

The wall a few meters behind Beomgyu was adorned with framed quests. He turned around to look at it. The rumors were that BH had the most Quests – some people have even travelled from different Kingdoms to request that the Seven Virtues complete their Quests. Beomgyu squinted as he tried to read the pinned scrolls. A majority of them seemed easy, silly even.

“Not from there,” Soobin nodded upward, toward the second floor, “The Virtues and other S-Rank Mages take Quests from up there. Master’s not even going to entertain the idea of us doing one of those Quests. Not yet.”

“The Virtues.”

The grin on Soobin was annoying. It kept growing the more interested Beomgyu seemed in anything. He all too ready to answer any questions and show Beomgyu around. This was something he was proud of, after all.

“They’re all on Quests now,” Soobin frowned, “I should have introduced you to Jimin and Taehyung earlier, but I wanted to get you in the Guild first. Sorry. The next Virtue we see, I’ll introduce you right away. No questions asked. Even if they’re in the toilet.”

* * *

At this point, Beomgyu decided that he would stop having any expectations. _For anything_.

For example, he expected that both Hueningkai and Kang Taehyun to be very nice, very friendly Mages who would have welcomed him right away. Instead, he was sat across the younger blonde Mage in a very intense glaring contest. The younger Mage’s eyes were so big that Beomgyu was certain he’d lose the glaring contest, but he would take his chances. He couldn’t give anyone any satisfaction at this rate.

“Take it back,” Beomgyu said so sternly, it felt like a threat, “Take it back.”

“Why would I take back fact?” Taehyun rose an eyebrow at Beomgyu, “A Celestial Mage is only as good as the Celestial Keys in their possession. You’re lucky you have four Zodiac Keys. If you had any less, I doubt you would have been allowed in the Guild.”

Beomgyu sputtered in frustration as he tried to figure out something to say. Their argument was cut off when Hueningkai chimed in, “That’s a compliment! He’s complimenting you because the Zodiac Keys are really hard to get. We tried to find them awhile ago and couldn’t even get near it.”

Soobin, of course, just let out a laugh. He put an arm around Taehyun and said, “Give him a break. He saved me and finished my Quest for me.”

Taehyun rolled his eyes, “Thanks for keeping Soobin alive.”

“So,” Hueningkai took the seat next to Beomgyu and asked, “A Celestial Mage! That’s incredible! My dad told me there weren’t too many. At least, not now. That’s so awesome. I hope I can meet your Celestial Spirits one day.”

As much as Beomgyu wanted to keep his guard up, it was impossible. He could save that for another day. He gave the much taller brunette a smile and nodded, “Maybe if we go on a Quest, I’ll ask them to come on. They’re resting right now. I know Aquarius isn’t too happy, so asking her to come out will just end up with me nearly drowning.” He shuddered at the thought, “Leo will forgive me, but I don’t want to wear him out …plus, he’s weird.” He shuddered at that thought too. Leo’s jealousy might come out if he asked for him. There were some things that Beomgyu didn’t want to explain yet.

“So each of them have their own personalities?” Hueningkai’s interest masked whatever conversation Taehyun and Soobin had gotten themselves into. Beomgyu nodded as he explained his Spirits to the younger boy. Every Spirit was another person, another being who just needed to borrow a bit of Beomgyu’s Mana to materialize into their world.

As he spoke, he thought about how nice this felt. How easy it was to talk to them, even Taehyun. So, this was what being in a Guild was like. He could get used to this.

* * *

“And why did all of us have to go on this Quest?” Beomgyu whined as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. It was only 10 o’clock and they were already in another city. It was really unfair that he only got to enjoy being at the BH Guild for a day or two before Soobin had the bright idea that four of them embark on a new Quest together. “This better not be another pickpocket Quest.”

“I didn’t pick the Quest,” Soobin grinned as he put an arm around Taehyun. Beomgyu made a mental note that Soobin did that very often with the blonde Mage; he didn’t say anything, just let a smirk fall into place. Soobin nodded and continued, “Taehyun here’s the one who chose it.”

Hueningkai skipped over next to Beomgyu’s side and handed him the scroll, “Read it. I think you’ll like the Quest.”

Hesitantly, Beomgyu took the scroll from the taller Mage’s hands. His eyes scanned it carefully – it was an easy retrieval Quest, they just need to go into a cave and bring something that was stolen back to the city – but he read the final words aloud, “The city of Andalusia is where the Celestial Keys originated from.” Beomgyu grinned and looked at Taehyun, “So, you don’t hate the Great and Handsome Beomgyu.”

“Questionable,” Taehyun replied as he broke away from the group, “We need to meet up with the Mayor of the City. We need more information on whatever we’re trying to retrieve, after all. We can’t go into a Quest blindly. The more information we have, the better.”

Beomgyu snorted and looked over at Soobin before he returned his gaze to the blonde Mage, “Tell that to Soobin over there. ‘ _If there isn’t a plan, you can’t risk you enemy finding out about_ ,’ was what he said during a _simple_ pickpocket quest.”

Soobin shrugged, “It all worked out, didn’t it?”

“That’s what they always say,” Taehyun sighed and looked over at Beomgyu, “Please help me make sure we all get through Quest alive. Those two chase after anything cute and suddenly a C-Class Quest becomes an A-Class one and we don’t even get paid for the class upgrade.”

Beomgyu laughed. Whatever he initially thought about Taehyun was clearly very wrong.

* * *

The mission briefing with the Mayor was anything _but_.

Beomgyu found himself bored and uninterested in what the Mayor was telling them. If they asked him, something about the Mayor seemed fishy. A little off, a little suspicious; the way the Mayor smiled made his skin crawl – it felt tilted, slightly off from what it should have been. Beomgyu couldn’t put his finger on it and honestly, he didn’t want to look at the Mayor anymore.

While Beomgyu wanted to get out of this, just a single look over at Taehyun and he knew they wouldn’t be able to. The blonde Mage was in complete focus – his pen scrawled across the page in front of him, notes scribbled across the parchment. He sighed and just tried to turn his attention back to the Mayor. The most minimal attempt to pay attention. It looked like Soobin was paying attention and Beomgyu would have believed it too …if he didn’t catch the glimpse of the very poorly played game of Hangman that Soobin and Hueningkai were embroiled in.

Every time Beomgyu looked up at the Mayor, he felt his skin crawl. So, he decided not to look at the Mayor. Rather, he looked past the Mayor and at the clouds behind him. They looked soft.

 _Soft_.

Beomgyu’s mind started to wonder. How many days had it been since he had seen that stupid, pretty pink-haired Mage? He wondered what he was doing and if he’d see him again. Absentmindedly, Beomgyu’s fingers fiddled with the gold chain that hung around his neck. _Stupid_.

Beomgyu let his mind wander. At least, he wouldn’t have to look at the Mayor anymore. Besides, Taehyun looked like he took in all of the information that they needed. It made sense to Beomgyu why Taehyun was the one rumored to go on higher class Quest. That poor guy was probably going to have a headache after this Quest.

The mission wasn’t complicated. They just had to follow a map to a point and take back a red jewel stolen by some wild animals. It wasn’t complicated.

“Look,” Taehyun said as they left the Mayor’s office, “It should be an easy Quest. It’s so straight forward. Even we can’t fuck it up.”

There are certain assumptions that should never be made.

Much like that one.

* * *

Why was there so much running involved in being a Mage?

“You just had to chase it, didn’t you?” Beomgyu screamed at Hueningkai. If they weren’t in the middle of running, Beomgyu would have throttled the younger Mage but right now, there was no time to think about that. Beomgyu let his legs carry him as far as he could. “It’s just a rabbit!”

“It wasn’t a rabbit,” Hueningkai tried to explain, “It’s Rabbingem.”

Beomgyu couldn’t care less if it was a rabbit or a Sea Cow, what he cared about was that there was now an entire family of them chasing them. The creatures looked rabbits …at least, they did from far away. When they got close, they were triple the size of the Beomgyu. They were even taller than Soobin. Although Hueningkai called them Rabbingems, Beomgyu called them terrifying. He looked back at Soobin who looked like he was struggling to keep up and then at Hueningkai, “Whatever it is, can’t you stop them?”

“I don’t want to fight a Rabbingem! You have to fight their whole family,” Hueningkai shouted back at Beomgyu. He let out a shriek as he ducked down – Rabbingem kicked forward, nearly knocking Hueningkai over.

With the amount of times that Beomgyu has nearly died since he met Soobin, he decided the blue-haired Mage was an unlucky charm. Beomgyu stopped running and turned around, “We’re Mages. Why are we running. We can fight them.”

Just as Beomgyu turned to fight them, a flurry of Mana enhanced cards flew right past them.

“ **Minor Arcana**.”

There were different types of Magic and this was Taehyun’s. The blonde Mage stood in firmly, finger flicked the cards at the Rabbingem. As the cards flew forward, casting circles emerged from them. As the cards closed the distance to their targets, the casting circles expanded and wrap themselves around the Rabbingemss. The casting circles lit up with a brilliant yellow before they enveloped the Rabbingems and then as the moments passed, the creatures were pulled into the cards.

“ **Trap**.”

And just like that, they were gone. Beomgyu blinked a few times before he turned to Taehyun who had a scowl on his face. Before Beomgyu could turn to him, both Hueningkai and Soobin ran to the shorter Mage and hugged him. Taehyun wasn’t given any time to protest before he was engulfed by the hugs of the two giants.

“You saved the day,” Beomgyu said as he gave Taehyun’s shoulder a pat, “Our hero.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t feel genuine,” Taehyun muttered. He tried to push off the giant duo hugging him, “Get off me. We need to get going so we can finish the Quest.”

“Can’t we take a break first?” Soobin whined as he let Taehyun push him away. He looked around and said, “We’re safe here, we can take a break. Let’s have a snack break too.”

Unfortunately, it seemed that Soobin’s unlucky streak was still active. Beomgyu groaned as he smacked himself on the forehead. If it wasn’t one thing, it would be another.

“What the fuck is that?” Beomgyu cursed.

* * *

At this moment, Beomgyu understood why people didn’t venture out of what they knew. He had a lot of friends who would leave to go to the city and then in a few months, they would return back home. Beomgyu understood. It’s only been a little over a week and it was becoming borderline _too_ exciting.

To think, Beomgyu thought that those weird rabbit things were the worst of their troubles that day.

Beomgyu was crouched behind a bush next to Taehyun. As Beomgyu was about to ask a question, Taehyun put his hands over Beomgyu’s mouth. His eyes widened, warned him not to say anything. He shook his head and Beomgyu bit back his words and silently nodded. In the surprise ambush, Soobin and Hueningkai got separated from them and Beomgyu hoped that whatever form of Magic was watching kept those two alive.

Despite the warning in Taehyun’s eyes, the blonde Mage seemed to be calmer than Beomgyu. He moved closer so that the bare whisper that Taehyun said could be heard, “I think, they’re members of a Dark Guild.”

 _Dark Guild_ – the last time that Beomgyu heard those words strung together was from Yeonjun and those members wanted to scalp that Mage. Beomgyu swallowed nervously as he nodded at Taehyun. Quietly, he thought to himself, _wasn’t this supposed to be a low-ranked mission_? He was about to ask Taehyun a question when he heard the struggle of their assailants and their new captures.

Taehyun and Beomgyu’s eyes met. There were nothing that needed to be said – panic and worry were much easier to read than anything else.

‘ _BH Guild Mages,_ ’ Beomgyu heard the Dark Guild members’ voice as they threw their friends on the ground. ‘ _What are they even doing her—it doesn’t matter. We should take them and deple—_ ‘

There was a roar, a mix of ferocity and anger ripped through the air. There were screams and yelps; a lot of spell casting attempts that were cut short, stopped before they were finished. Beomgyu didn’t remember when he closed his eyes, but as he opened his eyes slowly, he could feel his heart beating so fast he could barely hear his own thoughts. What else could be happening? Beomgyu was about to ask Taehyun when he heard Taehyun say, “Took you long enough, Hyuka.”

Beomgyu followed after the younger Mage to see the scene. He wasn’t sure what he expected to see, but there were about fifteen Mages knocked out, scattered on the ground. In the center of it, Hueningkai was stood. Beomgyu’s eyes looked at the younger, taller Mage’s form as it started to shrink back into his normal size – _Were those claws? Were those horns?_ It seemed that Beomgyu would always have more questions than answers when it came to his Quest.

Unlike Beomgyu, Taehyun ran right over to where Soobin was still tied up. He quickly untied Soobin while scolding him for getting caught so easily. There was no need for Beomgyu to chide in with any remarks, not when Taehyun did a great job yelling at Soobin. Instead, Beomgyu walked over to Hueningkai to check up on the younger man.

“Hueningkai,” Beomgyu reached a hand and placed it on Hueningkai’s shoulder, “You okay?”

For a brief second, Beomgyu caught the change of Hueningkai’s eyes – they shifted from the yellow sharpness that panther’s had to the softer, friendly eyes that Beomgyu hade met the first time. _Beast Soul_ Magic, that’s what Soobin had said Hueningkai’s ability was. Beomgyu wondered if it was painful for the younger Mage, the immediate shift of his physical form and the Soul of a Beast being placed inside of him …Beomgyu’s hand remained on Hueningkai’s shoulder and squeezed it again.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” Hueningkai finally said with a tired smile, “I thought it would get easier. Maybe I need to get stronger. I’ll ask Master for more training when we get back.”

There was skepticism in Beomgyu’s expression as he shook his head at Hueningkai. Then he thumbed over to Soobin, “You did good. You saved Bunny Boy over there. Between you and me, it seems like we’ve all been saving Soobin lately.”

There it was, a laugh out of Hueningkai.

“Soobin doesn’t need saving,” Hueningkai said before he quietly added, “But it’s better if he doesn’t have to go beyond healing.” That was the second time Beomgyu heard that warning about Soobin’s abilities. What could it be that no one wanted Soobin to use it?

* * *

“I don’t think this is a regular mission anymore,” Beomgyu pointed out as he sat down. The four of them took shelter a nearby cave. He didn’t know how far they walked, but he decided that they walked deep enough into the cave. Beomgyu was tired. “You picked a C-Class Quest, but I don’t think this is a C-Class Quest anymore,” he complained as he took off his backpack.

“It was supposed to be,” Taehyun said with embarrassment attached to his syllables, “I didn’t think there would be a Dark Guild involved. …we should take turns standing guard. We never know what’s going to happen, especially in a cave.”

Beomgyu leaned back against the wall of the cave. It felt cool against his back and made himself comfortable, adjusted his sitting position but he couldn’t get comfortable. In the back of his mind, he worried of ambush. For all the worry that Beomgyu was going through, he almost facepalmed at the sight of Soobin – how could someone fall asleep that quickly? Beomgyu was jealous.

The Celestial Mage felt restless. Uneasiness had made itself part of his expression. He glance over at the Soobin and Hueningkai, both of them asleep. Taehyun wasn’t. The younger Mage was going over his notes, rereading the things he had written. Beomgyu looked over at Taehyun and said, “I can’t sleep. I’m going to go for a walk.”

“At this hour? When there’s a Dark Guild out there?” Taehyun rose an eyebrow at Beomgyu, “Do you have a death wish or something? Are you stupid? Don’t answer that, you are. No sane person would decide that. We’ve been attacked all day.”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes, “I’m a big boy, Taehyun. I will be fine.”

“You will not be fine,” Taehyun retorted, “You could literally be killed.”

“I will be fine,” Beomgyu insisted and suggested, “I’ll take unlock a Summon Spirit before I go.”

Taehyun’s eyes narrowed, glared at Beomgyu but even he could tell that Beomgyu wasn’t going to stop insisting. The younger Mage reached into his bag and palmed for something. Once he got it, he tossed it at Beomgyu. “If you need help, channel your Mana into it and it should light up a signal in the air. I’ll see it from here,” Taehyun explained, “I’ll wake up these trees and come save your ass.”

“You’re starting to like me.”

“No, I just don’t want to explain to the Master why our newest Mage died during this mission.”

“You _do_ like me.”

* * *

Why did being a main character have to be so difficult?

Beomgyu always believed that he was the main character of his life and unfortunately, even with this new adventure, he was also the main character.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Beomgyu scolded himself mentally for being a moron. He should have stayed in the cave with the others, but _no_ , he had to go for a walk and get some fresh air. Beomgyu’s fingers fiddled with the signal item that Taehyun had given to him, but his stupid fingers dropped them. He couldn’t signal for the others. So, he had to do this on his own. “It’ll be okay, I can do this,” Beomgyu said calmly, “I can do this. I’m a Celestial Mage.”

His fingers wrapped around the Key of Leo before he tugged it off the necklace. He poured his Mana into it as he ran. “O Key of Leo, the Pride of the Pack, I ask for your help in this time of distress,” it was unfortunately much harder to summon while he was running. “Please, Leo, come out, I request your help.” Beomgyu’s fingers wrapped around the key before he stuck into the air and twisted it to unlock the door of Leo.

The King of the Zodiac emerged from the door. An extremely handsome man with a mane as messy as a lion came out of the door. The summon spirit was dress in a suit, sleek and charming. He landed next to Beomgyu before he grinned at the Mage. His fingers curled against chin before he cupped his cheek. Leo grinned at him, “You finally called for me, baby. You must have missed me so much.”

Beomgyu swatted away at the Summon Spirit’s hand. “No, go fight those things, Leo,” he scolded, “You can be gross after. Just go get rid of those things after me.”

Unlike Aquarius, Beomgyu’s relation with Leo was different. Aquarius always wanted to drown Beomgyu, but Leo’s been trying to seduce Beomgyu since he got that key. Unfortunately for Leo, Beomgyu’s heart and mind was starting be preoccupied with someone else.

“As you wish, baby,” Leo turned his attention from Beomgyu to the set of Mages around them. There were five of them and unlike earlier, their eyes were all on the keys around Beomgyu’s neck. Leo stood in front of Beomgyu, ready to fight them. There were certain Zodiac Spirits known for defense or attack, but Leo was an all arounder – he was the strongest Zodiac Spirit that Beomgyu had. So, the Celestial Mage wasn’t scared …at least, he shouldn’t have been.

Leo ran forward to the Mages after Beomgyu. With his arm drawn back, the ring on his right fist started to light up and with his hand in a fast, he aimed to hit the Mage in front of him. “The Lion’s Roar,” he greeted the Mage with an explosion of power that bounced him right back to Beomgyu’s side, “Easy.”

Once the dust settled, Beomgyu was met with an unfortunate sight. The Mage was unharmed. In fact, it looked like the Mage had taken no damage. In fact, it looked like the Mage took the energy from the attack … Beomgyu’s eyes widened as he realized that the Mage was ready to throw the full force of Leo’s energy back at him. The weariness of running all day had finally decided to settle in Beomgyu and as much as he tried to tell his legs to move, he couldn’t. _Shit._

“I got you, Beomgyu,” Leo said as he shielded Beomgyu from the blast of Magic. The Lion Spirit took the hit, engulfed in his own strength. The Spirit turned to Beomgyu as he started to dematerialize, “Run, Beomgyu. Hurry. I’ll hold them back. I can afford to be hurt, you need to get out of here.” Beomgyu felt his tears start to fall. He hated the idea of Spirits being hurt and revert back to their keys by force. This was his fault, not Leo’s. Why did Leo have to get hurt?

“I thank you and I close your gate,” Beomgyu said as he stuck the key into the air, turned it and locked the gate. Leo tried to call out, protest to let him fight to take care of Beomgyu but he vanished back into his key. “Thank you,” Beomgyu said as he kissed the key. There were Celestial Mages who didn’t care about their Spirits. Beomgyu wasn’t one of them; he would rather be the one hurt.

“It’s our lucky day,” he heard the Mages get closer. Beomgyu was tired, he struggled to sit up and look at the Mages. Even from where he sat, he could feel their smile as he heard them say, “We caught a Celestial Mage with all those pretty keys. I can’t believe we actually caught one.”

Was this how his story ended? A week into this adventure thing and Beomgyu was already about to die. He closed his eyes and wondered if Soobin and the others would look for him? Would they tell his parents? He didn’t even do much, but would anyone else in the Guild care? And what about Yeonjun …would he care? Beomgyu sighed, was this it?

“ **Sorry** ,” a voice so crystal clear came through, “ **That one’s mine**.”

Beomgyu forced his eyes to open, but a light so sharp, so brilliant shot from behind him and hit the Mages that threatened to inch forward. A quiet yelp came from Beomgyu. A sharp gasp came from Beomgyu as the assailants that came after Beomgyu toppled over, fell on the ground.

“We need to stop meeting like this.”

There was a breath of relief that escape Beomgyu when he turned around to see a very familiar, very welcomed sight. All the adrenaline rushed out of Beomgyu but he smiled happily, “Go away, Yeonjun. Why are you still stalking me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading chapter 3 of do you believe in magic, friends. i appreciate you all making it this far! 
> 
> i do have to let you know that the chapters are going to start coming out a little slower now. my holiday is over and i unfortunately need to go back to work instead of writing out the chapters of beomgyu's adventures. especially since i've leaving you all at a pretty cliffhanger.
> 
> chapter 4 is outlined, so i just need to find the time to write it out.
> 
> see ya in the next update! but if you want to keep up with where i'm at or get some sneak peaks or even to chat, check my [twt](https://twitter.com/nine3rds). thank ya! love ya!


	4. Into the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sorry,” Beomgyu replied as he felt Yeonjun’s hand move from his face. “I was trying to make sure that I lived.” He watched as Yeonjun sat down in front of him. If Beomgyu had the energy, he would have glared at Yeonjun.
> 
> “That’s not something to apologize for. I like having you alive.”
> 
> _Stupid, pink-haired pretty boys with pretty words._

Usually, when the main character is saved by their romantic interest, there were a lot of sweet words being said. Sometimes, there was even a hug or if they were lucky, there’d be a kiss involved. Instead, Beomgyu was asked: “ _Are you stupid?_ ”

“I could have handled it,” Beomgyu replied as he struggled to sit up. His hands were pressed against the ground to keep steady, he could barely sit up. Any other time, he could have easily volleyed snide remarks and snark with Yeonjun, but he was too tired to even think of one right now. Between the amount of running and spent adrenaline, exhaustion was the only option for the Celestial Mage. He closed his eyes for a moment. Soft breaths escaped him as he tried to rest. “Why are yo—,” Beomgyu’s words came to a halt when he realized how close Yeonjun had gotten.

Soft brown eyes looked directly into his own before he felt Yeonjun’s hand cup his face. Beomgyu was sure that he turned a shade of pink that could rival Yeonjun’s hair. He had enough of Yeonjun. He closed his eyes, but felt Yeonjun’s hand gently tilt his head left and right.

“Your Mana’s almost completely depleted,” Yeonjun spoke. It might have been his fatigue but Beomgyu swore he heard Yeonjun’s voice soften with concern, just a little bit.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Beomgyu replied. Instinctively, he nuzzled his cheek against Yeonjun’s hand. His eyes immediately opened once he realized.

“ _And_ you summoned Leo here.”

“Sorry,” Beomgyu replied as he felt Yeonjun’s hand move from his face. “I was trying to make sure that I lived.” He watched as Yeonjun sat down in front of him. If Beomgyu had the energy, he would have glared at Yeonjun.

“That’s not something to apologize for. I like having you alive.”

_Stupid, pink-haired pretty boys with pretty words_.

Beomgyu bit the side of his cheek to keep himself from reacting. Unfortunately, that didn’t help when Yeonjun took Beomgyu’s hand into his. “What are you doing?” Beomgyu frantically asked as he tried to pull his hand back but to avail. “Why are you being weird?”

“If you keep shouting, the Dark Guild’s members will find us before I can finish this,” Yeonjun hissed at him which kept Beomgyu quiet. “I’m giving you some of my Mana,” Yeonjun finally admitted as he opened Beomgyu’s hand. His thumb brushed against Beomgyu’s palm – he wasn’t wearing gloves this time, Beomgyu noted. “Considering where we’re at, this probably won’t be the last time either,” he said, which caused Beomgyu to tilt his head.

Before Beomgyu left his village, he thought that he was well versed in all things Magic. Out of everyone he knew, he studied harder and tried to read more books. Even his own mother admitted that Beomgyu had studied Magic more diligently than he did …but here, outside of his village? Beomgyu realized that whatever he learned in his village only scratched the surface of Magic.

Yeonjun pressed his thumb into the center of Beomgyu’s palm so hard that Beomgyu let out a yelp in surprise. He winced; the corners of his eyes pitched tears that threatened to fall. When he thought he would hold Yeonjun’s hand, he didn’t expect it to hurt. The pressure Yeonjun pushed into his hand made Beomgyu let out a whimper of pain. Since Beomgyu had no clue about what was going on, he followed Yeonjun’s commands. He let Yeonjun guide his fingers to wrap around his thumb. There was a small casting circle that came from where their hands connected and he wasn’t sure, but he swore Yeonjun whispered something in another spell-casting language again. Then nothing.

Beomgyu’s brow furrowed as he looked at their hands and then at Yeonjun, “I don’t think tha---”

Everything hit at once. It was warm, familiar. Soft yet strong – Beomgyu couldn’t figure out how to explain the way it felt except that it felt like something that he could trust, something he could rely on. So, this was Yeonjun’s Mana that Beomgyu could never feel; it was warm, soft and it just felt like it welcomed him in every way he could and couldn’t imagine.

“I don’t think it’s enough to fill your Mana,” Yeonjun’s voice snapped Beomgyu back into reality, “But it should be enough to kick start your Mana recovery. We just have to get you out of this place. Otherwise, you’re not going to recover. It should take a few hours to get you to a main road, but if you let me lead, we can get to it quic—”

“What are you talking about?” Beomgyu’s brows furrowed and shook his head. He blinked a few times to bring himself back into focus before he said, “I’m on a Guild Quest, I can’t just leave.”

“ **Quit the Quest**.”

Beomgyu’s eyes narrowed at Yeonjun; his glare aimed that him with pure anger. “I’m on a Guild Quest with my Guildmates,” he said firmly, “I’m not leaving them.” He stood up from where he sat. With his hand on his hips, he looked down at the pink-haired Mage sitting on the floor. “I’m going to finish my Guild Quest _with_ my Guildmates,” he announced and then decided to put the target on Yeonjun, “Better question, why are you here? You’re always following me around and being su—”

“ _Are you and your Guild idiots_?” Yeonjun’s voice came out sharpened. He stood from where he sat. Beomgyu felt himself freeze in place as he felt Yeonjun’s eyes scan him. With that icy gaze scanning him, he couldn’t even move. Yeonjun asked him again, “Are you and your entire Guild idiots?”

“Stop insulting us. We’ve gone through so much today. Do you know how many times we’ve been attacked?” Beomgyu admitted and frowned at him. _Why was he being such an ass today?_

Yeonjun sighed at Beomgyu. That icy glare melted into one of concern before he put a hand on Beomgyu’s shoulders. His hand moved slowly from Beomgyu’s shoulder and over to cup his chin. “I said I liked you alive but you’re making this really hard,” Yeonjun’s words always tinted Beomgyu’s cheeks a rosy red but maybe, it wasn’t just the words. Maybe it was the concern that colored each syllable that Beomgyu wanted to believe was for him. Yeonjun sighed, “Do you have any idea where you’re even at?”

“Huh?” Beomgyu tried to blink his distraction away, but it was difficult when he standing that close. He breathed in and answered, “Andalusia?”

“Exactly. _Andalusia_. You shouldn’t be here,” Yeonjun’s lips twisted in frustration as he looked at Beomgyu. He was frustrated, but his eyes were glazed with concern, “No Celestial Mage should be at Andalusia, ever. Not unless you have a death wish.”

* * *

There were plenty of people who wanted to be thrown into adventure, to be in a constant quest for something that they could never imagine and find treasures untold. Beomgyu thought he wanted that, but right now, Beomgyu wanted something easy. Why couldn’t he have wanted to own a café in the city with cute paintings and shelves of plants on the walls? Why couldn’t he have wanted to take an easy life and own a bookstore or something? But no, he had to chase after adventure and looked for his purpose.

“So, basically, the longer I’m here, the higher the possibility of me dying will be?” Beomgyu asked Yeonjun again for clarification. His expression turned into bewilderment as he let his thoughts run rampant. He almost let out a scream of frustration had Yeonjun not gave him a warning glance. Beomgyu bit back his scream – _Did Taehyun do this on purpose_? “We need to get my Guildmates,” Beomgyu looked at Yeonjun. He knew Yeonjun said to leave, but maybe the pink-haired Mage was weak to pouting and sad eyes.

Yeonjun rolled his eyes.

So, Beomgyu said it again but this time with more sadness in voice and much deeper pout, “We need to get my Guildmates, Yeonjun. I can’t leave without them.”

“Fine,” he gave into him, much to Beomgyu’s surprise. “Lead the way to them. If something attacks, I’ll take care of it,” he announced, “Let your Mana recover. We’re going to need you at max cap.”

Beomgyu started to lead the way back to the campsite where his team was at. He walked a few steps of Yeonjun – far enough, but not far at all. “So …you never explained, why Celestial Mages weren’t allowed here? Just that I could die in Andalusia,” Beomgyu brought it up as he looked back at Yeonjun. The way the moon lit the older Mage’s face made him look so ethereal that Beomgyu had to turn his attention back to the path in the dark.

“Andalusia is the city where your Celestial Keys are made,” Yeonjun explained quietly, “Did you notice anything different today? With your Magic?”

At the question, Beomgyu’s lips pressed together as he thought. He was more tired than usual, but he assumed it was from all the running …except, Beomgyu’s eyes widened and snapped back over to Yeonjun. “I only summoned Leo,” he said, “I’ve been able to summon Leo and Aquarius and Puma before. I’ve even summoned Puma and Tokei at the same time … but I summoned Leo and it felt like my Mana …”

“This place feeds off Celestial Mage’s Mana. That’s why I kept asking if you and your Guildmates were stupid. Taking a Celestial Mage here,” Yeonjun took a sharp breath as he shook his head. “Andalusia is where Celestial Keys are made because Celestial Spirits with no container flock here. Those unrestrained Spirits feed off the Mana from …,” Yeonjun pointed at Beomgyu, “Celestial Mages.”

Beomgyu stared at Yeonjun’s finger and then blinked a few times. He frowned.

“Celestial Mages are rare enough as is without you being taken to this place,” Yeonjun said.

“Why do people keep saying that?”

“That Celestial Mages are rare?”

Even as a child, Beomgyu had heard that saying – from his mother, his father and even the elders in the village. Everyone kept telling him that he was a rare type. Even his new Guild Master said that Celestial Mages were rare. He looked over at Yeonjun and with pleading eyes asked, “Why are Celestial Mages so rare?”

As silence became Yeonjun’s answer, Beomgyu grew frustrated and turned to face the taller Mage. He eyed him up and down slowly before he asked, “Why is that so hard to answer?”

“Because it’ll upset you,” Yeonjun revealed. To Beomgyu’s surprise, Yeonjun took his hand and dragged him a few feet away and straight into the bushes. The Celestial Mage was starting to grow tired of the forests – this was the second time that Yeonjun shoved him into either a tree or a bush. Except this time, Yeonjun shoved him to the ground. This was the worst Quest that he could have been on …or not? Beomgyu let out a quiet gasp as he felt Yeonjun lay on top of him. He closed his eyes as he felt Yeonjun’s voice against his ears, “Stay quiet. They’re here.”

_“They have Celestial Mage,” a voice grinned into the darkness. Their voice was so slimey that it made Beomgyu’s skin crawl. “That makes our job easier. I can’t believe someone actually came here with a Celestial Mage._

_“They said that Yeonjun was spotted at the center,” someone else chimed in._

_“That fucker better not get to the Celestial Mage before us,” their words paused as they stepped in front of the Mages that had been after Beomgyu. They kicked at them to see if they were alive but Yeonjun’s lightning had diminished whatever life those Mages had. “He’s already here. I know that asshole’s lightning anywhere.”_

_“I’m getting real tired of that bastard.”_

_“How many of our connections has he ruined? The last time, he was spotted taking something from Crimine and then they disbanded right after the destruction he caused,” there was bitterness in their voices. Beomgyu could feel their growing anger. “We should just truce with the other guilds and hunt him down before he destroys all of us.”_

_“A one-man Dark Guild Hunter,” someone snorted, “I can’t believe we live to see that day.”_

_“We need to find that Celestial Mage before he gets to them. If he gets them first …we’re gonna have to wait to find another Celestial Mage. I don’t want to wait that long. We need the Mana now.”_

_Beomgyu’s eyes widened as he looked up at Yeonjun, who pressed a hand over Beomgyu’s mouth. ‘Shhh,’ was all he whispered. It was hard to stay quiet. Beomgyu shut his eyes and nodded very slowly; his brain ran so fast that his body went into automatic mode and just nodded slowly. He didn’t know what else to do._

_How would they get out of here?_

_As Yeonjun took a sharp breath, Beomgyu felt it. He looked over at the Mage on top of him and followed the way Yeonjun’s hand shifted away from his mouth. Yeonjun pointed his fingers in a direction further away from them before he snapped them. At the end of his snap, a roar of thunder split the sky and lightning crackled in a spot further away from them._

_“We got him,” one of the voices cried out, “That moron. Using his abilities in the dark of the night.” Immediately, the Dark Guild’s members around them took off in that direction._

At least a full minute passed before Yeonjun moved off of Beomgyu. Beomgyu didn’t move, he laid there for a little longer. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Celestial Mages weren’t this rare before,” Yeonjun’s voice broke Beomgyu’s silence. He reached a hand out in front of Beomgyu, who gently took it. Beomgyu let Yeonjun use his strength to pull him up; he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to focus on anything. “Dark Guilds made them rare,” Yeonjun continued, “Celestial Mages are known for having more Mana than most of us. You literally have enough Mana to open a portal into the Celestial realm, materialize a Celestial Spirit and grant them Mana to fight.” Yeonjun looked over at Beomgyu, concern in his eyes. Beomgyu looked up at him; he didn’t expect the expression of concern, almost as if Yeonjun was pained to have to tell Beomgyu the truth. “Dark Guilds have found a way to harvest Mana from Celestial Mages,” Yeonjun finally said, “Once Mana is completely harvested …,” he trailed off. There was no need to finish the thought.

Beomgyu almost died today – almost died _multiple_ times.

Beomgyu was in a place where Celestial Spirits were already stealing his Mana.

Beomgyu was in a place where Dark Guilds were hunting after him to harvest his Mana.

All Beomgyu could do was cry.

All day he tried his best to keep everything together. He cracked jokes, made fun of Soobin and tease Taehyun; he checked on Hueningkai and tried to keep him in check …but Beomgyu? He finally let out that loud sob that he kept holding back. Everything that he thought was going to happen once he joined the BH Guild felt like it was turning into a nightmare.

He put his hands over his face, suddenly realizing that Yeonjun was still there. Beomgyu hid his face in his hands, trying to stifle his sobs but the tears kept falling. It was impossible to stop at this point. Why was this happening? Why was everythin—Beomgyu felt arms wrap around him and pull him closer.

“I got you,” Yeonjun said as he gently rubbed Beomgyu’s back. He pressed a kiss onto Beomgyu’s forehead, “I told you, I like having you alive, Beomgyu. As long as I’m here, I promise I’ll keep you alive. You can trust me.”

* * *

“ **Minor Arcana: Target**.”

At the sound of Taehyun’s spell, Soobin woke up from his sleep. Immediately, the blue haired Mage sat up from where he lay and looked for the others. Taehyun and … “Where’s Beomgyu? Where’s Hueningkai?” Soobin attempted to ask but was shoved down by Taehyun. A beam of fire flew above them.

“He went out for a walk,” Taehyun said as he moved away from Soobin. “We’ll look for him but right now, we need to take care of these uninvited guests.”

The icy blonde Mage stood up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his main deck of cards – at that point, Soobin knew this was going to be a dangerous match. He nodded at Taehyun and stepped back. Taehyun could handle their attackers, but right now, Soobin needed to find Hueningkai.

“Let’s see what the cards have in store for you,” Taehyun shuffled the cards in hand as he dodged the attacks aimed at him. With swift movements, he lunged into a forward roll and once he was steady, he withdrew a card. His lips formed a smirk. The Mana flowed from his fingertips and into the card before he slammed the card into the ground, “ **La Tormenta.”**

The moment the card slammed into the ground, a whirlwind of air came out. The violent winds formed a tornado with its tail ending in the center of the card; the tornado spun around and pulling in all of the Dark Guild members into its vortex. As the tornado spun them all out of commission, Taehyun reached in for a different card, “ **Dreamer’s Sleep**.” Once again, Taehyun put his Mana into the card. Instead of throwing it into the ground, he aimed for the Dark Guild members. The moment the card connected with person, Taehyun snapped his fingers and they all fell into a quick slumber.

The tornado Taehyun summoned pulled the members into its vortex before it sealed itself into the card. As Taehyun reached for another card, his eyes narrowed at the Dark Guild members that were after him. “Shit,” Taehyun cursed under his breath. He bit his bottom lip with fear as he fumbled for another card to throw – did he have enough time? His eyes met with the Dark Guild member in front of him. The smirk on that man’s face made Taehyun scowl.

“ _Pestilence Grip_ ,” Taehyun heard a voice whisper. There was always sadness whenever he heard that voice. His eyes wavered, pupils unable to focus on the Dark Guild members in front of him. Those attackers started to fall; one by one, each of them fell to their knees as they cried out in pain. Some of them were gasping for air, trying their best to breathe but they were unable to taste the air; many of them dropped their weapons, their strength was unable to hold anything up as they fell to the ground. The wave of Dark Guild members that had come their way crumpled to the ground, unable to move from their pain and only once they stopped moving did Taehyun hear the words, “ _Release_.”

And just like that, their attackers were gone.

Two sides of the same card: the Mage that could heal was also the Mage that could poison.

“Soobin,” Taehyun’s voice dropped into a whisper as he looked up at the older Mage. There were tears that stained Soobin’s cheeks. The guilt spread across Soobin’s usually kind expression; the guilt was so heavy that Soobin couldn’t keep his head up. His gaze fell to the ground. Taehyun walked over to Soobin and reached for the taller Mage’s face, cupping it with his hands. His thumbs brushed aside the tears.

“I’m sorry,” Soobin’s voice turned small, almost inaudible. “I hate do—I’m sorry.”

“You saved me,” Taehyun tried to smile at Soobin, “Thank you.”

They let a moment’s silence fall over them for a few minutes. The weight of Soobin’s abilities lay on their shoulders but he wasn’t carrying it alone. Not tonight.

“We need to find Beomgyu and Hueningkai,” Soobin finally said. “Beomgyu should be okay, but Hueningk—”

At the sound of a pained roar, Soobin and Taehyun’s gazes snapped to the opening of the cave and then back to each other. Their eyes met and they nodded. They didn’t have to say anything else. Their bodies moved before their brain could tell their mouths what to say.

Hueningkai needed their help.

* * *

Fear gripped Beomgyu almost as tightly as he held Yeonjun’s hand. This was a night that didn’t want to end and the longer the moon was out, the more that trouble seemed to rise.

“ **Lightning Blade** ,” Yeonjun’s voice cried out as he pulled his free hand to the side. In the center of his palm, a casting circled formed. A wave of Mana emitted from it before the brilliant form of lightning formed into a thunder bolt. His fingers gripped the end of the bolt; the blade of lightning had a low hum, almost like the sound chirping birds. He looked at Beomgyu as he let go of his hand, “Give me a few seconds. I’ll be right back.”

Yeonjun had told Beomgyu not use any of his abilities and that made the Celestial Mage so nervous. If he could have summoned Leo or Puma, he could have had one of them help Yeonjun. Though …as he watched Yeonjun get tangled into the fight with the Dark Mages, he didn’t think Yeonjun needed the help.

From the moment they met, Beomgyu already thought that Yeonjun was a very capable Mage. He’d never seen someone draw that much power and strength; he’d never seen someone cast a spell as quickly as Yeonjun had or as calmly …but that wasn’t even him using his full abilities. Beomgyu gasped as he watched the way Yeonjun fight; it was deadly, but it was a beautiful dance.

A trail of pink-hair ebbed and flowed between the attacks that aimed at him. It was almost as if he could predic—Beomgyu blinked a few times. His Mana must have started to recover because in the midst of the fight, he could spot a soft spark of lightning that surrounded Yeonjun. Someone threw an attack at him from the left and before it could land, a quiet spark of lightning cried out. Yeonjun spun away from it and primed himself into a position where he could let the blade of lightning do its job.

Yeonjun’s battle dance was so beautiful.

In a matter of seconds, the battle ended with Yeonjun center stage. The light of the moon spotlighted him as he closed his hand into a fist. The blade of lightning vanished.

“Let’s go,” Yeonjun looked over at Beomgyu and held out his hand, “We need to keep moving to get to your Guildmates.”

“Yeah …,” Beomgyu reached for Yeonjun’s hand, “We shouldn’t be too far. We stayed at the cave over there.” He nodded in a direction ahead of them, “There’s three of them. Taehyun, Soobin and Hueningkai. I hope they’re all still asleep.”

There was no comment from Yeonjun, but his silence said everything to Beomgyu. The Celestial Mage didn’t respond but the spread of worry filled him. He ran ahead, pulling Yeonjun forward with him as they stepped through the brush and fauna. It seemed too easy and from what Beomgyu knew, nothing has ever been that easy since he started this journey.

A pained, animalistic roar broke the thick of his thoughts.

“Hueningkai,” Beomgyu whispered as his head snapped in the direction of the sound. “Yeonjun, that’s one of my Guildmates. He sounds like he’s in trouble. We need to go find him. We need to save him.”

There was drop of annoyance in Yeonjun’s expression before he closed his eyes. Beomgyu watched as Yeonjun took a deep breath – _was he getting annoyed?_ “Look,” Beomgyu started, “You don’t have to help me. You can just go finish whatever it is you’re doing. I need to go help Hueningkai.”

“You really do have a death wish,” Yeonjun responded.

“It’s not a death wish. He’s my Guildmate and I know his Beast Soul Magic hurts him when he uses it,” Beomgyu frowned as he let go of Yeonjun’s hand. He pleaded with his eyes as he looked at Yeonjun, “I need to go help him. Wouldn’t you do the same for someone you knew?”

Yeonjun looked away from Beomgyu as he licked his bottom lip, before he bit it. There was a gentle sigh that came from him before he said, “Most of the people I know are dead.”

“Oh …,” was all Beomgyu could say.

“But you’re right,” the older Mage responded, “I would do that. That’s why I’ve been doing what I do.”

“Fighting Dark Guilds on your own?”

“If I finish these Quests for the Kingdom,” Yeonjun explained. A troubled expression came to him as he searched the ground for something. He shook his head, “They can help me negotiate her freedom. I’m almost done. She’ll be free soon.”

Beomgyu looked over at Yeonjun. His eyes searched the older Mage for an explanation. He knew it was stupid feel that tug of jealous curiosity in his heart. With the question he was almost too afraid to ask, Beomgyu looked at Yeonjun, “… who are you trying to free?”

“My mother.”

* * *

The panic set in before the fear did.

“Don’t hurt him!! Don’t hurt him,” Beomgyu shouted at Yeonjun, who gave him the most annoyed expression. The pink-haired Mage glared at Beomgyu as he side-stepped from the swipe of the very large, very monstrous creature in front of him. Beomgyu ran alongside them, trying to keep a safe distance but still trying to explain what to do, “That’s Hueningkai. He’s my Guildmate.”

“Well, your Guildma--,” Yeonjun’s words were cut short as he felt the full force of Hueningkai’s swipe hit his stomach. He fell to the ground and just before the hoof of Hueningkai’s fist landed on his head, he rolled over to the side. Offensive fighting was easy for Yeonjun, it’s defensive fighting that was something that Yeonjun struggled with. “What do you want me to do then, Beomgyu?”

Beomgyu let out a yelp as he ducked from the swing of Hueningkai’s Beast Soul Form.

The first time that Hueningkai used it in this area, Beomgyu only caught the end of it – he only saw Kai reverting back to his normal self. But now that Beomgyu was looking at this form of the younger Mage, he understood what Kai had meant about it being difficult.

The youngest Mage had transformed into a large creature, far taller than he and Soobin’s height combined. He stood tall with sharpened antlers that were adorned with scraps of fabrics from the Dark Mages’ cloaks that he headbutted. Fur had transformed him into monster, sharpened expression with fangs attached.

“I think he’s scared, Yeonjun,” Beomgyu called out.

“I’m scared too,” Yeonjun retorted as he dodged another lunge from the beast, “What do you want me to do? I can’t attack him without hurting him.”

“I think he might be confused.”

“You think?”

Beomgyu might have been scared, but it didn’t stop him from making a face at Yeonjun. Sarcasm was not helpful at the moment. “I think he’s confused,” Beomgyu ran over to where Yeonjun was, “I think he got scared and his Magic is confused. That’s why he’s like six different animals right now.”

It was a Frankenstein of animals that Beomgyu couldn’t even name them if he wanted to but the thing was, as he caught a glimpse of Kai’s eyes, it wasn’t anger. There was a sadness in it, a fear, a worry. Beomgyu frowned as he looked at Yeonjun, “Can you hold him down? Like tiny voltage? Just enough so that I can talk to him?”

Yeonjun stared at Beomgyu like he was crazy. He blinked at him and frowned, “You really do have a death wish, Beomgyu.”

“So, you can’t do it?” Beomgyu raised an eyebrow.

“I never sa—”

“If you can’t do it, that’s okay. Performance anxiety is common among confident men. I can’t blame you if you’re unable to perform in front of me,” Beomgyu looked at Yeonjun with the most challenging expression. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, “It’s okay. I’ll go look for Soo—”

Yeonjun walked away from Beomgyu and stood in front of the beast that Hueningkai had transformed into. He glared at Beomgyu before he turned his attention back to his target. In actuality, he’d never used a low voltage attack before; most of his attacks were aimed to either maim or eliminate his opponents. …but Beomgyu presented the challenge.

“Net,” Yeonjun muttered as he snapped his fingers. A small casting circle emerged from the tips of his fingers as his snap finished. He pulled his hand back and threw the casting circle toward the beast. When the circle flew above Hueningkai, the net of lightning emerged and expanded. It fell around Hueningkai. Yeonjun winced as the lightning touched the creature’s fur – _it was still too strong_. He moved his hands down as he tried to lower the voltage more and more, until his hands finally landed on the ground. The soft hum of lightning buzzed through the air as the creature was unable to move.

Beomgyu clapped his hands quietly as he came out from the behind the tree. He walked next to Yeonjun, “Thank you.”

Yeonjun stood up. He folded his arms across his chest before he sighed and looked over at Beomgyu, “What you going to do now?”

Without hesitation, Beomgyu walked over to where Hueningkai lay, restricted by the lightning net. He sat down in front of him and reached a hand out to touch Kai’s cheek. “Hey,” Beomgyu’s voice was low, soft but calming, “Hueningkai, it’s Beomgyu. I’m here. I’m not scared, I’m right here next to you.” He brushed his thumb against Kai’s face, “I know, it’s been scary since we got here. All the attacks we’ve been going through. You did so well, you did so well.”

Yeonjun stood back quietly, watching Beomgyu in admiration. The Celestial Mage’s kindness was a familiar warmth, something that he longed for. A slight smile came to him as he continued to watch over Beomgyu. His glance was cast left and right; anything could happen at the next moment and he had to keep Beomgyu safe.

“Hey,” Beomgyu continued to try and calm his Guildmate down, “You’re okay. You didn’t hurt me or Yeonjun. I’ll have to introduce you to him later. He looks mean but he’s a softie.” Beomgyu wasn’t sure what to do but he figured if he could calm Hueningkai down, it could release him from the Magic. He looked into Kai’s eyes and gave him a gentle smile, “It must have been scary for you, but I’m here now. I’ll take care of you. Just try to focus on my voice, okay? Try to focus your Magic on my voice and release yourself. I believe in you, Huening. I believe in you.”

Beomgyu never failed to amaze Yeonjun. For someone that claimed that he didn’t know what to do, Beomgyu always did what was necessary. The pink-haired Mage watched in silent surprise as Beomgyu calmed the beast – Beast Soul Magic needed to be restrained with peace before it could release its user. All Yeonjun could do was smirk and watch the Celestial Mage with fondness.

“Thank you,” Hueningkai quietly said to Beomgyu.

Eventually, Hueningkai’s eyes closed and the hold of the Beast Soul Magic started to vanish from him. Beomgyu couldn’t understand the pain that the younger Mage would feel during his unfortunate transformation; he wished he could find a way to help this boy – no one should have to experience this pain with their Magic. When Hueningkai returned into his regular form, Beomgyu let out that breath that he held and reached for Kai’s hair. He brushed his fingers through it and sighed, “What are we going to do with you, Hueningkai?” He looked over at Yeonjun and signaled for him to release the net of lightning. ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed back to him before he turned his attention back to the sleeping Mage.

“Shi--,” Beomgyu heard Yeonjun’s voice and immediately looked over to him.

Cards were thrown at Yeonjun – the pink-haired Mage immediately jumped back as he slammed the cards into the ground with lightning. Without hesitation, he shot a bolt of lightning into the direction that it came from. As Yeonjun stood up, another set of cards were thrown at him; he dodged again and threw another bolt of lightning.

Panic came through Beomgyu’s entire body as he stood up. “Yeonjun, Yeonjun,” Beomgyu cried out as he tried to reach the pink-haired Mage before he shot another bolt of lightning. If it’s cards, Beomgyu knew who it was.

“What did you do to Hueningkai?” The voice of the icy blonde Mage came through as he rushed to Yeonjun, “Why are you hurting him?” Taehyun threw a set of cards charged with Mana at him. As the cards flew toward him, Taehyun rushed straight into Yeonjun attempting to tackle him, “I’ll kill you.”

“Yeon--,” Beomgyu tried to call out but he felt a hand on his shoulder. He blinked a few times and there was Soobin right next to him. “Soo--,” he tried to say but Soobin shook his head. “Come on,” Soobin said as he nodded as he put a hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder, “Help me lift Kai, we can get away from the Dark Mage.”

“That’s not a--,” Beomgyu tried to argue with the taller Mage but his attention sharpened over to Yeonjun and Taehyun. “Don’t be stupid, that’s not a Dark Mage,” Beomgyu snapped as he removed Soobin’s hand on his shoulder. He scrambled to his feet as he ran over to where the blonde and pink-haired mage were. “Yeonjun, please don’t hurt him,” Beomgyu called out, “That’s my Guildmate!”

_Are you kidding me?_ Yeonjun thought to himself as he stopped going on the offensive and went into a defensive mode … _again_. This was starting to be more trouble than he needed it to be.

“Taehyun!! Stop attacking him. That’s …he’s my ---,” Beomgyu tripped over his own words as he tried to figure out what to call Yeonjun but luckily, he didn’t have to struggle too much.

Yeonjun grew tired of the fight. Once he dodged the final set of cards that Taehyun had thrown at him, he snapped his fingers and shot a very finely aimed, very small bolt of lightning at Taehyun’s deck of cards. It scattered the cards against a tree which caused Taehyun to curse at Yeonjun but that momentary lapse of attention was the distraction point Yeonjun needed. He ran past Taehyun and stood behind him before he kicked the back of the shorter Mage’s knees. Taehyun was fell into a forced kneel as Yeonjun grabbed his wrists to keep him in place.

“Enough,” Yeonjun decided. He gave Taehyun’s wrists a tight squeeze as a warning to the younger Mage. He cast a glance over to Beomgyu, “Your Guildmates are just as troublesome as you are.”

“Yeah …sorry,” Beomgyu said as he found himself in the center of the four Mages. He reached a hand behind his head and gentle rubbed it. “Well, at least, we’re all at the same spot now …,” there was no lightening up this mood. “Yeonjun …can you let Taehyun go, please? I promise he won’t try to kill you anymore …right?”

Yeonjun released Taehyun and moved further away from the group. Just in case. The pink-haired Mage needed some more time to prepare when it came to fighting with defensive Magic. Had he known he’d be using that tonight, he would have prepared himself more but when it came to Beomgyu, it was unpredictable.

“Okay,” Beomgyu clapped his hands together, “First, Yeonjun …these are my Guildmates. That’s Soobin. Taehyun’s the one you who tried to kill you just now and that’s Hueningkai, who tried to kill you but not intentionally.” He gave Yeonjun the most apologetic look that he could muster because of all the times that Yeonjun saved him, he wasn’t sure he could ever make up for it. Then he gestured to Yeonjun, “Guildmates, this is Yeonjun. He’s my …,” and there it was again. Beomgyu felt stuck as he tried to explain something that even he didn’t know what to label.

“We need to get out here,” Yeonjun cut in – Beomgyu was thankful for it. Though, the look that Soobin gave him was signal enough that this was going to be discussed with him much later. Yeonjun stepped forward and implored, “We need to get out of here, fast. Unless you want Beomgyu to die, we need to get all of you out of Andalusia.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading the whole chapter! I appreciate your patience and I'm so happy you made through another chapter with me ~ Things are starting to completely unfold. I hope you join us for the next chapter!
> 
> As always, if you want to see any sneak peaks or see where I'm at with this story (or see what other things I'll be working on), please check my [twt](https://twitter.com/nine3rds).
> 
> Appreciate ya! Love ya! See ya next chapter, friends!


	5. Into the Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m almost a hundred percent sure that your boyfriend is definitely mad at us,” Soobin chided in as he stood next to Beomgyu. The blue-haired healer cast a glance over to Beomgyu and then over to where the pink-haired Mage had stalked to outside of the cave. “No, I’m certain now. He’s definitely a thousand percent mad at us.”
> 
> The meeting between Yeonjun and the rest of his Guildmates was nothing that Beomgyu expected it to. Though, he believed that there would have been push back and probably an argument or two, but …he couldn’t have fathomed the full-scaled argument that built up with the facts of their team’s stupidity that Yeonjun dropped. It came out much harsher than expected, but that was expected considering the stress and the situation they were in – “You know the world we’re living in,” Yeonjun had snapped at them, “You know that carelessness leads to death. If you can’t even take responsibility for that, you need to reconsider ever taking a quest again.” – Yeonjun’s words stung heavily enough to tilt everyone into a full-scale argument. 
> 
> Luckily for all of them, the Celestial Mage managed to separate all of them before the spells were cast.

“I’m almost a hundred percent sure that your boyfriend is _definitely_ mad at us,” Soobin chided in as he stood next to Beomgyu. The blue-haired healer cast a glance over to Beomgyu and then over to where the pink-haired Mage had stalked to outside of the cave. “No, I’m certain now. He’s _definitely_ a thousand percent mad at us.”

The meeting between Yeonjun and the rest of his Guildmates was nothing that Beomgyu expected it to. Though, he believed that there would have been push back and probably an argument or two, but …he couldn’t have fathomed the full-scaled argument that built up with the facts of their team’s stupidity that Yeonjun dropped. It came out much harsher than expected, but that was expected considering the stress and the situation they were in – “ _You know the world we’re living in,” Yeonjun had snapped at them, “You know that carelessness leads to death. If you can’t even take responsibility for that, you need to reconsider ever taking a quest again._ ” – Yeonjun’s words stung heavily enough to tilt everyone into a full-scale argument.

Luckily for all of them, the Celestial Mage managed to separate all of them before the spells were cast.

A sharp breath came from Beomgyu before he folded his arms across his chest. His gaze followed Soobin’s and over to Yeonjun’s figure at the entrance of cave. Slowly, he nodded and then turned to Soobin, “I don’t think he’s mad exactly …he might be just frustrated?”

“Why are we even trusting him so quickly?” Taehyun chimed in from where he was seated. In their earlier argument, before Yeonjun stormed out in annoyance, they were instructed to pack their things up and prepare to head out. The blonde Mage looked up at them and offered a different perspective, “Isn’t it suspicious that he shows up and suddenly it’s a bunch of Dark Mages and Dark Guilds and all death predictions on Beomgyu? Isn’t that suspicious?”

At that point, Beomgyu couldn’t even disagree. It wasn’t difficult to view Yeonjun with suspicious lens; the timing was _too_ on the spot, too perfect …but that’s what happened on the other times that Yeonjun randomly came into picture. Every time Beomgyu needed help …the Celestial Mage refused to believe it was anything other than Yeonjun being pulled to him by the universe. Perhaps that could be a mistake but Beomgyu wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“I don’t think he’s a bad guy …,” Kai quietly chimed in as he tugged on the strings of his backpack. After he was happy with the tightness of his pack, he looked up at them, “If he was, I think he would have attacked me when I was … during whe—he listened to Beomgyu and didn’t hurt me. I think I hit him a few times though.”

“Exactly!” Beomgyu clapped his hands together, “Besides, he …,” Beomgyu paused. He licked the bottom of his lip nervously before he bit his lip. It was hard to explain what they were when Beomgyu didn’t even know, “He won’t let anything happen to me. He hasn’t let anything happen to me. I know this for a fact. I know, _I know_ , the timing is sus, but I’m telling you that you can trust him. I _trust_ him.”

“Lusting for him and trusting him are two different things,” Taehyun pointed out as he gave Beomgyu a knowing look, which Beomgyu returned with a matching look of annoyance. “Besides, we just need to get out of here. Do we really need him for that?”

Soobin let out a laugh and shrugged at them, “I don’t know about you guys, but I would like to get through this alive. If we have Dark Guild members to fight _and_ those Rabbit-things _and_ Beomgyu’s Mana is being sucked dry from the Celestial Spirits – by the way, sorry about not researching _that_ before we went here,” Soobin put a hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder apologetically. He gave him a squeeze on his shoulders and then pressed his lips together apologetically before he continued, “I think we’re going to need all the help that we can get. Besides …it’s not like I’m very helpful in a fight.”

Taehyun let out a huff of frustration as he finished packing up his bag. He slung his bag over his shoulder and said, “Fine. Majority won. You still need to go talk to him. Regardless of what we’re all saying, Soobin’s right. Your boyfriend does seem pretty pissed right now.”

“First of all, I don’t even know if I can call him my boyfriend,” Beomgyu said frustratedly before he sighed, disheartened. Although Beomgyu knew that this wasn’t the time to think about that, he couldn’t hide the emotion seeping on to his face. He shook his head and the emotion away, “I’ll go talk to him. I’ll ask him to stay long enough to navigate us out of here. If you guys don’t trust him, you can at least, trust me. You can trust me.”

* * *

As the Celestial Mage approached the pink-haired one, a million different opening lines ran through his mind. None of them made sense, if he was asked, but all he had was confusion on how to approach this. Beomgyu walked until he stood next to Yeonjun. For all the words that Beomgyu could string together, they always seemed to be the most difficult to get out next to Yeonjun.

“I’m not mad, you know,” Yeonjun broke the silence, “Despite what your friends think. I’m _not_ mad.”

Beomgyu snorted as he looked over at Yeonjun. He arched an eyebrow at the taller Mage, “If that wasn’t you mad, I’d hate to actually see you mad.” Beomgyu poked Yeonjun’s side, “Are you really not mad, YJ? I mean, I don’t think you could ever be mad. At least, not at me.” Beomgyu put his hands against his cheeks, cupping his own face as he smiled up at Yeonjun. He poked Yeonjun’s side again, trying to break the frustration in the older Mage’s face, “You could never be upset with me.”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, a smile almost broke out of his stony expression. Maybe, Beomgyu easily figured out that the pink-haired Mage had a weakness for him and _maybe_ , Beomgyu enjoyed that all too much. Beomgyu pouted at him, his eyes pleading with Yeonjun.

“Remember how I said I liked having you alive?” Yeonjun finally asked. There was a softness in his voice, “You _and_ your guild are really making it difficult to do, you know that?”

As Yeonjun’s eyes scanned across Beomgyu’s face, the Celestial Mage felt the heat rise in his cheeks. A rosy tint painted itself across the apples of cheeks as he absentmindedly reached for Yeonjun’s hand with his own. His fingers reached for Yeonjun’s, gently kneading them softly before he finally laced both of their fingers together, interlocking their hands.

“Then …stay,” Beomgyu’s voice was soft, the fear of rejection tripped into the syllables of his words. Quietly, he tugged Yeonjun’s hand closer to him. He felt bashful, embarrassed as he quietly asked again, “Please …stay. Help us. Help me.”

Yeonjun’s silence was unexpected. However, Beomgyu’s gaze followed Yeonjun’s and landed on their intertwined hands. Beomgyu followed suit, keeping his gaze on their hands. Their hands fit nicely together, like they should have held each other a long time ago.

“You said you were on a quest, right? We’re interrupting it,” Beomgyu started as he tried to find a way to keep the other Mage here, “Then let me give you a quest. Let me hire you for one: protect me. Get me and get them out of here. _Alive_.”

There was a soft chuckle that came from Yeonjun, “The four of you wouldn’t be able to pay my asking price for a quest.”

The frown on Beomgyu’s face matched the frustrated wrinkle on his face. “…Why are you being so difficult now?” He huffed as he swung their hands together before he finally suggested, “I’ll give you something worth your price …something better.”

Yeonjun’s iciness was slowly melting away. He sighed and looked at Beomgyu, “And what would that be, Beomgyu?”

If Beomgyu was felt the smallest bit flustered earlier, he knew now was a completely different story; the heat in his cheeks made that rosy tint into a brilliant red one. At this pointed, he couldn’t even look Yeonjun’s eyes as Beomgyu quietly, softly said, “… me. I’ll give you me.”

The silence from Yeonjun was the most deafening sound that Beomgyu had ever felt. His heart felt even heavier as he felt Yeonjun’s hand move away from his, but the heaviness of his heart lightened as he felt that same hand press against the curve of his back. There wasn’t time for gasp as Yeonjun pulled Beomgyu toward him. The nonexistent distance between them thinned out with every breath Beomgyu took; he wondered if his heart was beating loud enough for Yeonjun to hear.

“What are you talking about?” Yeonjun’s smirk punctuated the question and that enough to make Beomgyu feel as if he was on a cloud. There was a slight shiver, accompanied by the smallest whimper that Beomgyu could let out as he felt Yeonjun’s hand move slowly from his back to his hip. The worst, of course, was when Yeonjun leaned in and his voice dropped to a near whisper; the warmth of words tickled Beomgyu’s ear as he said, “You’re already mine.”

There was no room for protest. Even if there was room for protest, Yeonjun sealed the space between them with a kiss. As Beomgyu settled on where to put his hands and let the kisses take over, he decided that he was okay with that; he was okay with being _his_.

* * *

“You know,” Hueningkai whispered to Beomgyu as the two of the trailed behind Yeonjun. At the instance of the pink-haired Mage, they had to walk in a particular formation: Yeonjun in the front of the pack, Hueningkai and Beomgyu in the center with Soobin and Taehyun trailing behind them; it was aimed to protect the two in the center of the formation as, at least in Yeonjun’s words, “ _they were the most vulnerable in a place like this, especially if a fight were to break out. We can’t have Beomgyu use his Celestial Spirits, or else, he’ll be drained of Mana and we can’t risk …Hueningkai? Yeah, Hueningkai from being attacked and having his Beast Soul take over._ ” By this point, none of them wanted to start another argument with Yeonjun.

Beomgyu looked over at Hueningkai and blinked up at him, “I know what?”

“He seems like a nice guy,” Kai whispered as he slowed his pace so that he and Beomgyu were walking side by side. The younger Mage kept his eyes alert and roaming, but he gave Beomgyu a kind smile. “He really wants to keep you safe,” Kai added, “I owe him one too.”

Beomgyu stared at Yeonjun in front of them. He wondered how soft his hair felt. He nodded and cast a glance over to Hueningkai, “I told you guys, I believe in him. You should too. He’s not going to let anything happen to me.”

“Yeah, I think so too. I mean,” Hueningkai gestured to himself, “He didn’t hurt me when I was in Beast Soul form …” There was a far off look in eyes that only Beomgyu caught.

“Hey,” the Celestial Mage put a hand on Hueningkai’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, “I’ll keep asking YJ to electrical net you down if you ever get over the top again. We’ll keep doing it until it works or you turn in to barbecue.” Hueningkai snickered at Beomgyu’s comment. With a shocked expression, Beomgyu pointed at Hueningkai, “I’m hungry. Having you become barbecue sounds amazing right now.”

“Cannibal,” Kai snapped.

“Only if it’s required,” Beomgyu grinned as he poked Kai’s sides. He poked him a few times, just enough for a few soft giggles. The Celestial Mage stopped once he remembered where he was. “If we get attacked by those Rabbit things, I’m gonna eat one, I swear. I don’t care if it tastes gross, I will eat one of them,” Beomgyu whined in a whisper.

“Let’s skip being attacked,” Kai decided aloud, “I’m tired of that.”

If only their wishes could be spells cast to protect them, but nothing works smoothly when the power of the Dark Guild’s roams in the forest.

* * *

It was five against who knows how many.

Yeonjun had mentioned that a large Dark Guild was in this area, but he didn’t know the exact numbers. Just that there were a lot of them and with the sheer number that came their way, there was way too many. It felt like there were just bodies upon bodies; people just coming out of nowhere.

Beomgyu wondered if they would be able to get through this alive …

“Where’s Yeonjun?” Beomgyu asked as he ducked past a spell of Magic. He was in the middle of this attack and he couldn’t even fight back with Magic. He rolled over on the ground until he reached where Taehyun had been, “Where’s Hueningkai?”

“I lost them in the attack,” Taehyun said as he withdrew two decks of cards. Casting circles appeared from the center of both of his palms and surrounded the cards. His Mana charged through each card as he cast the spell: “ **MINOR ARCANA: 104 PICK-UP**.”

In a moment’s notice, the deck of cards in his hands took flight. Each card sailed through the air, soaring through the thick of the attack until it pierced into one of the Dark Guild Members. Once the card lodged itself into its target, it let out a soft explosion of Mana that toppled over the attacked. Beomgyu stared at Taehyun and then the fall attackers and back to Taehyun, “Wow.”

“I don’t need sarcasm right now,” Taehyun hissed at Beomgyu. Though he sounded annoyed, when an attack was flung their way, he pushed Beomgyu down and out of the way, “I need your help. We need to find Soobin. Yeonjun and Hueningkai should be fine but Soobin …he might not be able to bring himself to fight.”

“You seem really conc—”

“Shut up,” Taehyun said as he got up. He reached into his pockets again and pulled out his main card deck. Beomgyu admired the black cards adorned with gold foliage and designs. “Unless you’re going to summon your Celestial Spirits, I’m in charge until I can leave you with your boyfriend,” Taehyun snapped. He thumbed through his deck and pulled out a card. He held the card between his index and middle finger; a small casting circle appeared as he charged it with Mana.

“ **Gladius Thornea** ,” Taehyun whispered as he threw the card on the ground. From where it hit the ground, roots rumbled in the dirt and spread across the small area. When it circled a group of twenty Dark Guild members, the width of thick, sharpened thorns spiked from the ground; each large spike impaled one of the Dark Guild members.

It made sense to Beomgyu. He completely understood why Taehyun was the one being asked to join higher-level missions. The blonde Mage moved like a professional, like he was on the same tier-class as some of the more famous members of BH’s Guild. Taehyun was both amazing and terrifying – maybe he should be nicer to the younger Mage, especially since Beomgyu couldn’t cast spells right now.

“ _Ahh_ –!”

With the cry of fear running through the air, Beomgyu and Taehyun looked at each other – their eyes shrank as they both said: “ _Soobin_.”

* * *

**_THIS_** – this is exactly why joining Guilds was such trouble. Even a Guild as prestigious as the BH Guild was proving to be such a hassle. Unfortunately, he made a promise to Beomgyu and the last thing he wanted was to see the Celestial Mage pout.

“Damn it,” Yeonjun felt the growl in his throat grow. With his back against the tree, he tried to calculate what the best next step would be. He balled his hand into a fist and slammed it against a nearby tree trunk. “Fuck, I need to ---”

There was roar that cut through the tension in the air. The roar turned into a bellow that rumbled through the forest.

Yeonjun shut his eyes for a moment. He could hear the Dark Guild members cry in excitement as they headed toward the owner of the roar: Hueningkai. It would have been easier to just leave – none of the attention was on him, all of the Dark Guild members were focused on taking down the mammoth of a beast. Before Yeonjun could even finish that thought, the image of Beomgyu pouting popped up and the Mage sighed as he opened his eyes.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

There was no point in answering. Instead, he peered over to the scene behind him. Groups of the Dark Mages were starting to surround the gargantuan creature that Hueningkai had transformed into – there were so many of them trying to tie him down, plenty of the attacking him with whatever spells they could cast to try and render him trapped.

“Okay, okay,” Yeonjun whispered to himself. If he didn’t move now, Hueningkai would be worn out from the attacks and that would not end well. With enough courage, he pushed himself off from the tree trunk and headed toward the attack.

 _First_ : Yeonjun had to get rid of as much of the long-range Magic users. There were at least ten of them that surrounded where they were. He ran, rushed and hushed through the thick of the trees. With his hand out, palm open, a casting circle immediately emerged – the sound of lightning chirped through the air as he swung his arm forward, his hand curled into a fist. As he ran through, he drew his fist back and let the lightning shock through each of the long-ranged Mages – each one toppled over, crumpled to the ground with the buzz of electricity lingering in their stunned expressions.

 _Second_ : He needed to clear a path to Hueningkai and that would prove more difficult that Yeonjun could have imagined. He snapped the spark of lightning in his hand shut as he looked at the crowd around Hueningkai and frowned.

There was a sense of pity for the younger Mage. Beast Soul Magic could be a blessing if controlled, but for those who haven’t been able to learn its usage …he cast a sorrowful glance at the Mage as he cried, roared with pain. The Beast’s Soul won’t rest if it cannot trust its user.

“Fuck,” Yeonjun dropped another expletive as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Why did he have to get involved in all of this? With a final sigh, Yeonjun ran straight into the crowd of Mages who aimed their attacks at Hueningkai.

With the urgency of everything, Yeonjun didn’t bother casting the regular spells. Instead, he chose to use the most basic of his attacks – he snapped his fingers and let the lighting strike where he aimed. It was messier, less accurate but he needed the crowd to disperse from Hueningkai. He felt stupid that he couldn’t come up with a better plan, but he needed to calm Hueningkai down, find the others and make sure Beomgyu wasn’t hurt. There was no time.

“Hueningkai!” He shouted as he got closer. “Hueningkai!” His voice was loud enough to catch the Beast Soul user’s attention; the low bellow echoed as he swung a giant limb toward Yeonjun. In a quick jump, Yeonjun landed on Hueningkai’s swung fist and ran up his arm. As he ran upward, he snapped his fingers to clear more of the Mages that were below them. “Hueningkai, I know you don’t know me very well,” Yeonjun called out, “But you have li---”

A miscalculation.

In his frenzied state, Hueningkai used his free arm to swat Yeonjun off of him. The force of the blow pushed Yeonjun from where he stood, sent him flying off toward the air. In quick twist of his body, Yeonjun angled himself to land on his feet. A grimace came to him as he took another breath.

“You need to find a way to calm down,” Yeonjun called out as he approached Hueningkai again, “You need to find away to let the Beast’s Soul know that you’re in control. It’s ac---” Yeonjun ducked from the fervor of Hueningkai’s attacks. Once he ducked down, he swept his leg out in a full 360 – the move knocked down the Mages that were surrounding him. As he attempted to get up, he was met with Hueningkai’s attack – he let out a loud groan as he fell back to the ground. He shut his eyes, winced in pain for a moment.

‘ _Don’t hurt him! He’s my Guildmate!_ ’

Yeonjun closed his eyes and groaned as he could hear Beomgyu’s voice. When he opened his eyes, he came face to face with whatever beast Hueningkai had transformed into. Without even the passing of a second, Yeonjun rolled over as far as he could before he finally pushed himself off the ground.

“Hueningkai,” Yeonjun called out again. He wasn’t supposed to hurt him …but he could shock him, right? With the sharp snap of his fingers, he caused the lightning strike to hit Hueningkai in the back of his head. It wasn’t strong enough to harm him, more like a static shock. “Listen to me,” Yeonjun called out, “You need to find a way to gain control of yourself. You need to find a way to anchor yourself to your humanity. The Beast Soul won’t trust you if you can’t understand yourself.”

* * *

The sound of thunder and the trickle of lightning tickled Beomgyu’s ears.

“Be safe …,” Beomgyu whispered to himself, hoping the worry would cast a protective wash over the Mage he was thinking of. Taehyun let out a sound to ask Beomgyu what he was saying, “Nothing! Hurry up and go to your crush.” At those words, Taehyun stopped running and stuck his elbow backward – Beomgyu ran right into it and fell on the ground. “Ouch. You fucker,” Beomgyu cried out as he landed on the ground. He rubbed his bottom as he stood up and then rubbed where Taehyun’s elbow collided with his ribs. “Oh yes, attack me while we’re being attacked. That’s the smartest thing that you coul—”

“Soobin,” Taehyun said he approached the taller Mage. He ran right toward him, “Hey, hey. Look at me, Soobin. It’s Taehyun. It’s Taehyun and Beomgyu, we’re both here.”

As Taehyun comforted Soobin, Beomgyu’s eyes fell upon the amount of fallen Mages. The Celestial Mage peered into their faces, they were twisted with agony. Some of them looked so sick; other looked like the blood was drained out of their entirety. There was a time when Soobin mentioned that he never wanted to use the other side of his abilities and judging from this, Beomgyu could piece together why. The melancholy in this situation softened Beomgyu’s expression as he looked back over to Soobin and Taehyun.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Beomgyu said as he hugged both of the Mages, “Just glad you’re okay.”

Soobin broke away from their hug first. He brushed the back of his hand across his eyes, drying them as he took a breath. “I’m glad you two are okay too,” he tried to smile at them but his relief fizzled, “Where’s Hueningkai?”

“… we don’t know,” Taehyun revealed with a frown, “We lost him during the attack. We need to go find him. He might get hurt if we don’t get to him first.”

Beomgyu nodded in agreement. Though, the Celestial Mage felt useless at this point. He wasn’t sure if he was any help to anyone right now. If he could have cast his Celestial Keys, he would have been able to help everyone; those spirits are so strong, so powerful that Beomgyu could have easily saved everyone …how could he help everyone? Beomgyu frowned.

What good was having Magic if he couldn’t use it to save everyone?

* * *

“You need to find a way to show that you have control,” Yeonjun hopped to the right, narrowly avoiding another attack from Hueningkai. “I know it’s hard, it’s fucking difficult but you need to find a way to remember something that anchors you to you--,” Yeonjun rolled over and landed on his back as he closed his eyes. He sighed and said, “Remember when Beomgyu talked to you?”

That caused Hueningkai to stop mid-attack and stare at Yeonjun. It lasted only a second before the growl returned and a fist was thrown.

“Think about how Beomgyu spoke to you, how he calmed you down,” Yeonjun called out. It hit him, “Anchor your mind to that moment. Forget everything else. Just remember when Beomgyu spoke to you. Remember how warm he was.”

It felt weird pushing Beomgyu to be Hueningkai’s anchor …but it’s not like Yeonjun know anything more about the younger Mage. All Yeonjun knew about any of them was that Beomgyu liked them well enough to join their Guild and be their friend – so, Yeonjun used what he knew and he knew Beomgyu. He stood in front of Hueningkai.

“I know, you all don’t trust me but trust Beomgyu. Trust him,” Yeonjun suggested again, “Trust in Beomgyu.” A group of Dark Mages came at him and Yeonjun snapped his fingers, letting the lightning do its work as he kept his attention focused on Hueningkai. “Think of Beomgyu. Think of your friends,” Yeonjun continued, “Think of your Guildmates.” The lightning Mage tried to remember their other two Guildmates with them, but he couldn’t recall. So, he could only use the names that he could.

It seemed to strike a chord with the Beast that Hueningkai had turned into. The creature that Hueningkai had turned into blinked a few times, stepped back as it seemed to take its effect. There was a hallow roar that came from him, cried out as he thrashed about – his limbs, his legs swung left and right as he kicked and flailed at the Dark Mages.

At this point, all Yeonjun could do was dodge but that was enough. Hueningkai’s thrashing and rampaging took care of the Mages that had aimed to attack.

And then, there was two.

Yeonjun stood in front of Hueningkai.

The pink-haired Mage had battled larger beasts than what Hueningkai. He’d stared creatures like that without fear. This should have been easy, but Beomgyu’s voice nestled in the back of his mind: _Don’t hurt him! He’s my Guildmate!_ Why Yeonjun let that Celestial Mage have such control of him, he wasn’t sure, but he knew he needed to protect Hueningkai.

“Hey,” Yeonjun called out. He needed to protect Hueningkai, but his impatience had a stronger grip. He stood in front of Hueningkai, eyes dead-set on the Beast, “If you want to save your friends, you’re going to need to learn to control this. You’re going to need to stop treating this shit as a burden and start learning to live with it and use it to your advantage.” There was truth in what Yeonjun spoke; blessings and curses were almost the same thing, the only difference is if one knew how to make use of it. Yeonjun knew that all too well.

Hueningkai growled at Yeonjun, angered at the Mage’s lack of fear. He growled but the words didn’t come out; growls and roars echoed sharply but Yeonjun showed no fear at this point.

“Get ahold of yourself,” Yeonjun rolled his eyes at him. He thought there was a break through, but when Hueningkai threw punch at him …Yeonjun didn’t hold back. His fingers curled into a fist as the breath of lighting chirped through it. The punch that Hueningkai threw at him was met with Yeonjun’s fist of thunder. “Beomgyu said not to hurt you, but if you don’t learn to control yourself, you’ll hurt you.”

* * *

“Why can’t we ever catch a break?” Beomgyu cried out, panic struck into every word that came out of him. He could barely run but if he didn’t he’d ge—and that was it.

A large hand grabbed the back of Beomgyu’s head, gripped it tight and pulled him back. Beomgyu winced in pain, tears started to sting the corners of his eyes as the owner of the hand pulled him back. He tried to get away, but he couldn’t even break out of this man’s grip. “Help,” he barely got the word out, his energy depleting faster and faster.

At the sound of Beomgyu’s word, Soobin and Taehyun turned around immediately. The pair’s eyes widened, gripped in full fear as they realized Beomgyu was being held tightly. Taehyun’s hands immediately went to his deck of cards, ready to aim an attack at the person holding Beomgyu captive but stopped as he watched a long, writhing finger waggle ‘NO’ at him.

“If you attack me,” the voice felt like sandpaper to Beomgyu. He didn’t want to hear it, he didn’t want to be here. The voice continued, “You’ll hurt our pretty little Celestial Mage. We don’t want to happen to him, now don’t we?” There was an unpleasant laugh that came from the owner of the voice; it made Beomgyu want to vomit. “Now, where are my manners?” The voice smiled, it felt like slime dripping. “I’m the Guild Master of Shadow Octoten.”

The moment this Guild Master spoke the words ‘Shadow Octoten’, Beomgyu caught the fear widen in Soobin’s eyes as if Soobin knew some secret that Beomgyu didn’t. It didn’t look good for Beomgyu, it didn’t feel good either; he knew he had to get out of here, Beomgyu felt the panic begin to hit as he struggled to break out of the man’s hold. The more that Beomgyu struggled, the tighter the hold on him became. ‘ _Yeonjun …come and get me_ ,’ Beomgyu thought to himself as he felt himself unable to fight away, ‘ _Please …Yeonjun._ ’

“You know,” the Shadow Octoten’s Guild Master grinned, “Of all the Celestial Mages we’ve ever caught, I think you might be the prettiest one yet. It’s a shame that you’ll die so young. It’s such a pity.” The Guild Master’s free hand reached for Beomgyu’s cheek, brushed a finger against it as he smiled. “Celestial Mages have always been so beautiful but even more beautiful when desperation hits them. I can’t wait to hear you beg for your life.

As the Guild Master’s attention was on Beomgyu, Taehyun ran forward. His deck of cards in hand as he charged all with Mana; he ran toward them and then immediately ran to the left before he swerved right and aimed all of the cards at the Guild Master. Beomgyu closed his eyes, braced himself for what was about to happen but before the cards managed to connect, the Guild Master’s gave them a smirk. Taehyun’s eyes stared as he watched limbs crawl out of the shadows and grab each of the cards before it pulled the cards into the darkness.

The young Mage knew better than to just give up.

With his main deck in hand, he thumbed across it until he reached a car with the swirl of water painted across it. “ **Mercury’s Deep Submerge** ,” he said as he held the card between his fingers; his Mana seeped into the card before he threw it on the ground. The moment the card hit the ground, a flash of brightness escaped it and then a flash flood of water flowed out of the card, spilling across everything and as it nearly reached the Guild Master, it stopped.

The Guild Master’s eyes sharpened, but that was all he needed to do to cast the spell. A blanket of shadows came out of him and barricaded him and Beomgyu from being victims of Taehyun’s attack. There was blink of panic in Taehyun’s voice as he stepped back.

“Good try,” the Guild Master grinned, “My turn.”

It was then that Beomgyu learned the difference between Light Magic and Dark Magic. There was a warmth in Light Magic, a soft kindness that made you feel warm, made you feel a type of love …the Magic that this Dark Guild Master harbored felt empty, like it lacked any happiness. Beomgyu felt himself let out a gasp, those almost tears falling as Beomgyu watched the Guild Master aim his attack at Soobin and Taehyun.

“ **Dark Descent** ,” the Guild Master whispered against Beomgyu’s ears, letting the Celestial Mage carry the guilt of the attack. Dark casting circles swirled around them, surrounding Soobin and Taehyun. As the circles completely materialized, columns of shadows erupted from its center. Soobin and Taehyun backed into each other, unsure of what this attack would do but their hands found each other; their hands clasped against each other, gripping tightly and hoping that they would be okay.

“Don’t hurt them,” Beomgyu cried out, tears that he held back no longer stayed in place, “I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt them.”

The Guild Master smirked as he snapped his fingers together, his aimed attack canceled as he loosened his grip on Beomgyu. “You’re coming with me,” the older Mage said.

But Beomgyu was never one to let someone he didn’t like tell him what to do.

“Like hell I am,” Beomgyu said as he broke away from the slacked grip of the older Mage. He ran as far forward as he could. Yeonjun warned him not to summon anything but the desperation of this situation couldn’t be ignored. Beomgyu’s fingers reached for one of the Gold Zodiac keys that hung snug on his necklace. His fingers curled around one as he took it off - _Pisces­_. “O Key of Pisces, the Divine Creatures of the Sea, I grant thee my Mana to ta--,”

At this point, Beomgyu would have started to transfer his Mana into the Zodiac key. He would have finished his incantation and pushed the key into the Celestial Door, unlocking the entrance for the spirits to enter …but the moment he started to transfer his Mana, he understood why Yeonjun told him not to summon anything.

Especially now.

As the Zodiac Key beamed with his Mana, the uncontained Celestial Spirits in the area flocked to it. The Spirits passed through the Zodiac Key, stealing the Mana that Beomgyu poured into it. At first, he thought it was just one Spirit that passed through but then another, and another, then one more and another and … Beomgyu found himself unable to keep steady. He tried to slow his breathing, steady it and every time he thought he was close to it, he felt his breath catch as another Spirit flew past him.

The way the things fell, Beomgyu tried to cancel the spell but with the Spirits passing through, he struggled to regain control of the run away Magic. Slowly, he felt his Mana start to lose itself until he felt those unwanted hands on his Zodiac key. Those boney hands took the key from him and ended the spell.

By the time the spell ended, Beomgyu felt weak. His mind felt dizzy, tired from the Mana that was stolen by the passing Spirits. Beomgyu’s eyes weakened, they felt so heavy and he felt so dizzy. The weight of his body threatened to fall, but he found himself leaning against something.

“Ah, you are a feisty one,” the Guild Master tsked as he looked at Beomgyu, “I can see why that annoyance has such an attraction to you. Maybe I’ll take you as mine.” Beomgyu turned his head in horror to be met with the most disgusting expression. He wanted to vomit. “It’s a shame but we need your Mana more.” The Guild Master snapped his hand as Dark Mages emerged, “Take him to the Guild Hall. Set him up forced regen and then we’ll drain him. As for those two …,” he cast a look over at Soobin and Taehyun, “Do what you want. If they die, they die.”

“No …,” Beomgyu felt his voice crack, it sounded so strained. So tired, “Leave t—don’t touch them.” Asmuch as he tried to fight, Beomgyu felt the hands of the Dark Mages reach for him and push him in a direction. Even if he tried to fight it, he couldn’t and eventually let himself resign to just following through with the pushing and shoving. ‘ _Yeonjun …,_ ’ his thoughts felt so tired now, so drained but he held on to one hope, ‘ _… please. You’re supposed to keep me safe. Yeonjun …_ ’ and that he felt himself dipped into exhaustion, Beomgyu could only remember Yeonjun’s promise to keep him safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, friends. Thank you for joining us in for another chapter. A lot has happened in this chapter, hasn't it? I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This arc is slowly coming to its conclusion, so please stayed tune for the next chapter! 
> 
> Thank you again!  
> Appreciate ya!  
> Love ya!


	6. Into the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeonjun closed his eyes as he weighed the options of everything in front of him. In all honesty, he was surprised that he hadn’t decided to just walk away by now.
> 
> When he was younger, his mother once told him that one person could change the entire course of his life. At that time, he pouted and asked what if he would never find that person but now, he wondered why it took so long to find someone to change him? He shook his head as he opened his eyes. Yeonjun decided that question could be asked after he saved him.
> 
> “Okay, I’m changing their plan,” Yeonjun decided on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be double the length, but since there's already a lot of things happening here, I didn't want to throw the pacing off. So, I hope you guys don't mind it too much. 
> 
> This is an action packed chapter!
> 
> Please enjoy!

_Floating – Beomgyu felt so light, so free._

_“My Darling, Beomgyu,” the Celestial Mage heard the familiar voice of the Celestial Spirit, Leo. Slowly, Beomgyu turned to face the Spirit of the Lion – Leo had taken its favorite form: a very dashing gentleman that could easily grace the cover of Sorcerer’s Weekly, his bright eyes shielded by a pair of sunglasses that matched his fancy suit. “Darling, what on Earth are you doing here? I mean, I’m always happy for your presence, but you shouldn’t be here, love.”_

_Beomgyu blinked a few times, an eyebrow quirked into a quizzical arch as he tilted his head. Confusion pursed his lips together as he looked over at Leo, “This is a dream, Leo. I’m literally floating.”_

_“Love, are you okay?” Leo reached a hand out to grab Beomgyu’s. As he held Beomgyu’s hand, he pulled him down from the air, “It’s dangerous for you to cross over to the Celestial Realm like this.”_

_“What?” Beomgyu let Leo’s touch pull him down from where he floated. The touch of the Celestial Spirit’s hand tethered Beomgyu to gravity – he wasn’t floating anymore. “What are you talking about?”_

_“Beomgyu, how did you get here?”_

_The Celestial Mage didn’t have an answer. He couldn’t remember. He should have remembered, but he couldn’t – his brows knitted in frustration as his eyes searched the clouds around them. Wasn’t he with his Guildmates? He blinked as he looked over to Leo, his eyes searched the Spirit as if there was a mystery answer in its face. Beomgyu took a breath, “I was with my Guildmates … we were doing a Quest. Yeonjun saved me and then we got separated …I was with Soobin and Taehyun. Where are they? Where is Huening? Yeonjun …where di--”_

_As Leo put a gentle hand on Beomgyu’s cheek, the Celestial Mage paused into a calm. “Darling, I think you’re in trouble.” The Spirit’s bright eyes peered in Beomgyu’s, “I think you’ve sent your Spirit here by mistake.”_

_“Leo, where am I?”_

_“You need to wake up, Beomgyu,” Leo frowned at the Mage, concerned gripped his expression, “You need to wake up, Beomgyu. A human Spirit can’t be here for long. You need to wake up.”_

_“Leo,” the voice caused Beomgyu and Leo to turn at the same time. The pair were met with a very intense gaze from their favorite Water Bearer. Aquarius made her way next to the pair, “You know this brat won’t wake up from a gentle reminder. I’ll wake him up.”_

_“Aqu—”_

_“You brat,” she snapped, “You know I never, ever want to see you here. I never want to see you in the Celestial Realm until you’ve lived a full life. Finish your adventure. Get married. Have children. See your children’s children. Only after will I ever accept you here.”_

_The Water Bearer’s face smirked as the grip on her favorite pot tightened. She pulled the pot of water over her head and Beomgyu started to panic. He moved himself from Leo’s grip and took a step back, then another and a few more before he shouted: “Aquarius, leave me alo---”_

_Water floated around him, enveloped him and drowned him into his true reality._

Beomgyu woke up with a soft groan before he gasped for air. He was drowning! He was going to drown! He … _wasn’t_ drowning? The Celestial Mage inhaled a deep breath as he regained some semblance of calm.

“ …wh—where am—”

There was a question at the tip of Beomgyu’s tongue, but with the way his mind was reeling, he wasn’t going to be able to get the word out. His pressed his eyes shut and forced them open – wasn’t he in the forest earlier? He shut them again and then opened them, but they felt so heavy – _Where was Taehyun? Where was Soobin? Where was Hueningkai? Yeonjun?_ Beomgyu let out a soft groan as he turned his head to the left; he let out a frustrated noise as he turned his head to the right.

“Ah, ah.”

Beomgyu winced as he heard that voice – he didn’t like it, he would have rather never heard that voice at all. Why couldn’t he have heard a voice that was more pleasant? Why couldn’t he have heard … Beomgyu used the remainder of his energy to open his eyes. As his vision started to focus, the Celestial Mage tried to figure out where he was.

Grey walls. Cold, grey walls. Candle-lit, cold, grey walls. _Ugly_ , candle-lit, cold, grey walls.

After Beomgyu blinked the images into focus around him a few times, he realized one thing: _he had absolutely no idea where he was_.

“Good sleep?” This voice felt like it clawed its way into Beomgyu’s ears – he really could not stand it. Beomgyu hated the sound so much that the Celestial Mage didn’t bother to make any attempts to look over to it. “Not going to even look at me,” the owner of the voice whined, “That hurts. Especially since I’m in the one charge around here.”

It was the voice of Shadow Octoten’s Guild Master.

“Your voice is annoying,” Beomgyu’s words finally came out and those were his unfortunate first words. He blinked a few more times before he attempted to move. His expression fell flat – this was really embarrassing in his opinion. His eyes moved over to the restraints that bound his wrists and his ankles to the wall before he let out a bored sigh, “Creativity is not your forte, is it?”

Most people who were captive _usually_ attempted to create an understanding relationship with their captors. Many of them tried to volley a sort of friendly relation in attempt to be released from their capture; in fact, some people even manage to talk their way out it. Honestly, if Beomgyu wanted to, he easily could have batted his long eyelashes and dropped pretty words, but Shadow Octoten’s Guild Master …Beomgyu’s face scrunched in disgust as the thought passed through his mind. _Gross_.

“Don’t test me, boy,” the Guild Master threatened as he walked toward Beomgyu. If it were anyone else, the Guild Master would have been more terrifying; dark clothes, cape and expression with every features that made him mimic those debonair villains – to Beomgyu, however, it seemed so cliché. So cliché that Beomgyu rolled his eyes which caused the Guild Master to punch the wall on the left side of Beomgyu’s head, “Do you understand the position you are in?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean, I’ll be nice to you,” Beomgyu said with a cheeky smile.

“You, Celestial Mages, really are so beautiful,” the Guild Master sighed as his moved his hand to cup Beomgyu’s cheek. “It is such a shame to burn out such a young life. You really are so beautiful,” his thumb brushed against Beomgyu’s cheek. The rough thumb made Beomgyu wince – this felt disgusting, felt so wrong; there was only one person that could touch Beomgyu like that and it wasn’t this old hag. “I bet your Mana is even more beautiful,” the Guild Master finally said.

“Too bad for you, I don’t have much to spare,” Beomgyu said cheekily, “So, you wasted your time kidnapping me. I don’t eve—”

“A Celestial Mage’s lowest level of Mana is still more than the average Mage,” he interrupted Beomgyu and grinned as he leaned in to whisper, “Don’t worry, we’ll force your Mana regen and then drain the Celestial Mana your body converts it to and then do it all over again. We’ll keep going until you can’t regen anymore.” He stepped back and grinned at Beomgyu, “It’s going to be fun to hear your screams.”

_That sounded awful_.

Beomgyu fell into silence as he thought about the number of things that he wanted to do, the people he wanted to see …he bit the side of his cheeks and mentally rolled his eyes as he resigned. Sweet words always worked on gross men like this Guild Master. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the grey wall. A soft breath of frustration came from him as he let the thoughts marinate.

“Or …,” Beomgyu started, “Instead of holding me captive, I could just _willingly_ give my Mana.” He looked up at the Guild Master and smirked, “I’ve got a proposition for you …”

This was dangerous water, but Beomgyu had something important to protect.

* * *

“I get it, you know?” Hueningkai’s voice carried over to where Yeonjun had been sat. The younger Mage lay on the ground a few feet in front of the older one – exhaustion and soreness had finally tightened its grip on the Beast Soul user. It took a few attempts for Hueningkai to calm his rapid breathing, to steady his heart. The fight against Yeonjun had never been one that Hueningkai expected to win. Though, he didn’t expect to survive it either, but Yeonjun managed to fix everything. Kai strained as he looked over to the pink-haired Mage, “I get it. I get why Beomgyu likes you so much.” There was a smile the punctuated his words, “It makes so much sense.”

Yeonjun scoffed and rolled his eyes as he finally sat down at the base of a tree. The Mage was to used to uneven fights, but usually, he had a better attack option – defending against an uncontrolled Beast Soul transformation had been a losing bet, after all. He stretched his arms upward before he pressed his back against the tree trunk. He brought a hand to touch his cheek. The man winced at the lightest of touch – Hueningkai’s Beast Soul form packed such a heavy punch that Yeonjun was surprised he didn’t break any bones.

“And why is that?” Yeonjun finally asked as he looked over to the younger Mage. The realist in him knew that they couldn’t just sit here and catch their breath. They needed to find the others and get out of this area. Yeonjun might have been a realist, but he wasn’t an asshole. A few minutes to catch their breaths wouldn’t kill them.

“Because,” Kai continued as he struggled to sit up. It took a few minutes for the younger Mage to sit up, “Because you’re good. Like, actually, honestly _good_.”

“That’s stupid.”

The Beast Soul user let out a frustrated pout at Yeonjun’s response. His lips jutted out, pursed with frustration to match his furrowed brows, “You are though. I mean, I can’t believe that you actually managed to _save_ me **_and_** teach me how to work with the Beast Souls all in one go. It was just so cool. You are just so cool.”

Yeonjun might have scoffed, but the Mage was never one to turn away compliments. Especially if there true. He nodded, “I know this.” Confidence was important, especially when casting Mage. In his line of work, lack of confidence could be a fatal blow. The strength of one’s Magic relied on the confidence one had to cast it – a Mage that lacked confidence in their abilities could never cast the spells or do the things that Yeonjun could. “You don’t have to tell me that,” he said as he finally pushed himself off the ground.

The older Mage walked over to where Hueningkai lay. He held a hand out to him and nodded.

Hueningkai reached out for it, borrowing some of Yeonjun’s strength to pull himself up. “No, but like, you’re so cool and he’s so warm.” Kai frowned as he realized that words were a different type of Magic. “Like, you two kind of just complement each other? I don’t know. You two just go together, okay? That’s what I’m trying to say.”

That wasn’t something that Yeonjun needed confirmation on, not when he already decided that. He started to walk ahead of Hueningkai. The party was split because of the previous attack and reuniting the younger Mage with his Guildmembers was the fastest way Yeonjun could make sure that Beomgyu was okay. It might have felt as though they were just wandering through the forest, but there was a scent of Magic that wasn’t normally found in the forest – a fresh, sharp screen like a pack of cards that were just opened.

To Hueningkai, Yeonjun might have been the epitome of calm but the amount of agitated anxiety in the older Mage’s mind caused it to race.

_He couldn’t smell Beomgyu’s scent_.

Though Yeonjun wouldn’t voice out the concern, the way his pace started to pick up speed and the way his eyes flickered across their path showcased the feelings he couldn’t say. Despite the increase in speed, he knew better than to run ahead of the younger Mage. Beomgyu did ask Yeonjun to help everyone, unfortunately.

“Stay back,” Yeonjun held a hand out in front the younger Mage, which the he walked into. Gently, Yeonjun’s hand pushed the Beast Soul user back as he cast him a warning glance. “Stay here, I’ll handle this. Don’t come out until I tell you.”

* * *

Beomgyu paced the room – it was a different room, but it was still full of ugly, candle-lit, cold, grey walls. He decided that when he got back to his apartment, he would paint the walls a nice pastel tone – _would Yeonjun like pastel colors?_ Beomgyu frowned as he continued to pace around the room.

It hadn’t taken the Celestial Mage long to convince the Guild Master that he would “ _join_ ” their Guild instead; it didn’t take many words for Beomgyu to convince them that it would be easier if they had a Celestial Mage in their team who would be happy to just let them take his Mana instead of forceful draining. When the Guild Master didn’t want to accept right away, Beomgyu would do what he normally did to make people do what he wanted: bat his eyelashes and jut out his bottom lip, pouting for just a moment. That was a different kind of _Magic_.

The Celestial Mage stopped pacing just long enough to run his fingers through his hair. Then, he buried his face into his hands as he let out a silent scream.

“Okay, Beomgyu. Beomgyu. You’re the Great _and_ Handsome Beomgyu,” he spoke to himself as he took a breath, “You can figure out how to get out of here. You can find a way to get back to your friends and …” His lips twisted in frustration as he bit the inside of his cheek, “Come on … think of something. What would Yeonjun do?”

A light bulb lit up in his mind.

“Okay.”

* * *

The chirp of thunder seared into a roar as Yeonjun drove his fist into the trunk of nearby tree. The tree split, a sharp sizzle of bark on either side of where his fist collided.

“What the fuck do you mean Shadow Octoten took Beomgyu?”

All the calm that Yeonjun tried to maintain for Beomgyu’s Guildmates dissolved the moment that Soobin explained their current situation. Yeonjun brought his hands to his face; his fingers massaged his temple as he tried to regain his composure. For all the cool and collectedness that people assumed of him, he felt none of that right now. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath.

“Are you sure?” Yeonjun tried to keep his voice leveled, calm as he asked, “I’m asking again, are you sure that Beomgyu was taken by Shadow Octoten?”

Soobin sat next to Taehyun, gently rubbing the younger Mage’s back; the Healer’s abilities began to work its way through the blonde Mage. He looked up to Yeonjun, “We tried to save him but Beomgyu gave himself up …he offered to go with them as long as they didn’t hurt us. Sorry.”

The apologetic expression on Soobin’s face softened the harsher one that Yeonjun had. Beomgyu’s Guildmates were similar to him: soft-hearted and cute. They shouldn’t be dragged into the darkness of this world that they were in.

“Okay,” Yeonjun decided as he nodded, “I’m going to go get Beomgyu.”

“Alone?” Taehyun spat out as he looked over the older Mage, “You’re going to get Beomgyu alone? I know you like him and all, but that’s stupid. You’ll get killed. Soobin and I barely made it out alive.”

Yeonjun let out a short breath as he turned to face them, “I can handle it.”

“We’ll go with you,” Soobin chimed in as he moved on from healing Taehyun. His hands moved to the youngest of them, gently moving to mend the aches that the younger had acquired, “We can’t let you go alone. Besides, Beomgyu’s not just a Guildmate, he’s our friend. He’s our responsibility. He’s our responsibility and we --,” Soobin made no attempt to hide the frown on his face.

“Look, I get it, we all want to save Beomgyu,” Yeonjun’s voice returned to his usual calmness as he looked over at the three, “I get it but the fact of the matter is, I can’t protect all of you at the same time when we’re dealing with these Mages. They’re a much higher class than all of you.”

Taehyun’s scowl emerged at that comment, “We can handle it. It’s not like we know anything about you or your Magic anyway. I don’t understand wh—”

“He taught me how to control the Beast Soul,” Kai interrupted.

Both Taehyun and Soobin’s heads snapped over to Hueningkai at the interruption. Their surprise widened their eyes as both Mages struggled to find the words to say.

“He taught me how to control the Beast Soul,” Kai repeated, “He survived the hundreds of Mages casting spells and attacking while fighting me _and_ taught me how to control the Beast Soul all in one go.” He turned to Taehyun, “Is that enough for you to trust him? He could have left me by myself like that but he didn’t.”

“I didn’t do it to gain your trust,” Yeonjun explained, “No one should suffer when they’re using the Magic they were born with.”

Soobin’s smile turned up at the conversation. He placed a hand on Taehyun’s, reassurance came in touches and soft smiles. The blue-haired healer nodded at the younger blonde, before he stood up. He walked over to Yeonjun and put an arm on him, “So, we’re going with you to save Beomgyu but what’s the plan? I think we should probably do on that catches them all off guard. You know how to get into that place, right?”

Yeonjun wondered if everyone in Beomgyu’s Guild had the audacity to just do as they pleased.

* * *

“I almost believed that you would actually do what you said,” Shadow Octoten’s Guild Master (whose name was “Octavian” – when Beomgyu learned that he thought the Guild’s name was unironically uglier than it already was) leaned against the doorframe as he eyed Beomgyu. Slowly, he shook his head at the Celestial Mage; each time his head shook, he let out a quiet ‘tsk’. “Then I remembered, you’re like every single cute Celestial Mage. Always thinks that they’re smarter, always think that they’re better,” he continued, “Surprise, it’s not going to work today.”

Beomgyu took a step back as his expression went blank. He brought his hands up together and started to clap, “Oh, you got me. I’m so stupid. I should have known that the _great_ Guild Master of Shadow Octoten would have caught me.”

The sarcasm from the younger Mage startled a fire of annoyance within the Guild Master. His annoyance burned so strongly as he stormed forward. He reached his right hand onto Beomgyu’s shoulder and slammed him against the wall.

“Do not insult me, boy.”

The lines of Beomgyu’s lips curled into a sharp smile as he let out a quiet giggle. Beomgyu brought his hands to cover his face as he continued to giggle at a joke that he wouldn’t tell anyone. Unfortunately, this only agitated the Guild Master.

“This is no laughing matter, Celestial Mage.”

Beomgyu’s eyes peered out from behind his hands, a glimmer of amusement twinkled in his eyes. The giggle turned into a full laugh as Beomgyu’s voice started to distort into a dual sound: “Celestial Mage? Celestial Mage? Where? Where is the Celestial Mage?”

The Guild Master withdrew his hand from this Beomgyu’s shoulder as he stepped back. His face distorted into confusion as he stared at him, “What kind of a joke is this?”

This image of Beomgyu started to laugh again. He placed his hands on his cheeks as he laughed, giggled at him as the single image of Beomgyu split into two. The two Beomgyu started to skip around the Guild Master, happily humming as they circled him. “Two of our Celestial Master,” the image sang happily, “But where is the real Master Beomie? Where is our Mage Beomie? Who knows?”

“The Gemini Zodiac key,” the Guild Master let out a roar of frustration, “Celestial Mages are pain.” Within the palm of his hands, he created a casting circle and from the center of it sprouted a large shadowy spike. It aimed for the two Beomgyus but before the pair were impaled, a circle of light surrounded them.

“Bye bye,” they waved as they gave him a wink and blew a kiss. After the kiss was blown, they reverted to their original forms: two mirror images of each other, small circular blue bees. With their stubby little fingers, they gave the Guild Master a peace sign, “Master Beomie says, ‘See ya, loser!’”

Beomgyu leaned against the wall as he felt he energy of his Gemini twins return to their key. He pressed the key against his lips and said, “Thank you, babies. Love you.”

It was wrong to use his abilities right now, he could only imagine the scolding he would get from Yeonjun later …but desperation was fuel to his actions. If he wasn’t in Andalusia, Beomgyu was certain he would have already been out of the castle by now. Unfortunately, because he was in Andalusia, Beomgyu was on some unknown floor in some unknown direction. _So much for what Yeonjun would have done_ , Beomgyu scolded himself as he leaned against the wall for support.

His Mana had been dangerously low earlier, but the moment he summoned Gemini …Beomgyu took a deep breath as he leaned against the wall. Slowly, but surely, he walked a long the empty hallway. He needed to get out of here.

“Come on, Beomgyu,” he tried to encourage himself, “Imagine how happy everyone would be once I get out? I bet they’ll cry with joy. Soobin will definitely cry.” A low laugh came from him as he moved forward, dragging himself with as much strength as he could muster but that wasn’t good enough.

“You’re a moron,” the Guild Master’s voice reached down the hall. He nearly flew down the hall as he grabbed Beomgyu’s shoulder. Whatever courtesy he had given Beomgyu earlier was no longer going to be granted. “I tried to be nice, but I will not be made a fool of.”

As Beomgyu gasped for air, his eyes widened and watered with such pain that he wondered if he could survive this. When Yeonjun had transferred his Mana to Beomgyu earlier, it felt so different …it felt so wanted and welcoming, so safe. He turned his head to look at the attachment to his palm and grimaced at the bright energy that was being forced into him – he hated this, he wanted this to go away. Everything in his body hurt. The attached contraption on his right hand pricked at his palm before it forced his body to forcefully regenerate its Mana and then the contraption on his left hand began to drain it.

“Fuck,” Beomgyu barely choked out between gritted teeth.

The Celestial Mage turned his head to the left side. Tears trickled down, following the turn of his head. On the left side, there was machine that turned his Mana into something tangible – he had no energy to even attempt to figure out what that was. The nineteen-year-old wondered if there was even a way to get out of here alive.

His thoughts were swallowed by the sound of Thunder.

_Please, please be Yeonjun._

However, Beomgyu was not one to give up. He was still alive, right? The Celestial Mage’s Mana was opened, forced open and between his Mana being drained by the weird contraption, he could feel the uncontained Celestial Spirits stealing what they could.

‘ _Please help me,_ ’ Beomgyu closed his eyes. There were Celestial Spirits in this room, he could feel them. Maybe, just maybe … ‘ _Please, hear me out, Spi—friends. You can take my Mana, but please help me. Please._ ’

There were different kinds of Celestial Mages. Some of the infamous ones were known for being harsh to their Spirits, but Beomgyu never liked that. He treated the Spirits as his friends, as family. The kindness of his heart was always shared with those in his life, his Celestial Spirits were no exception to that kindness.

‘ _Please, friends. I need your help._ ’

_‘Are you hurt …friend?_ ’

The voice was small – Beomgyu could see the petite Spirit floating toward him. The Celestial Spirit was a small, colorful bird. The Celestial Mage mustered up a small smile as he looked at it. ’ _Friend, my name is Beomgyu and I need your help. These people …_ ’

‘ _They hurt everyone that they bring here._ ’ The small bird perched itself on Beomgyu’s shoulder and nuzzled against his cheek. The Spirit hadn’t materialized entirely, it needed more Mana.

‘ _Friend, if I give you enough Mana to materialize into the human world, can I ask you to find someone for me? He can help me. He can stop these people from hurting me_.’

‘ _Can I still be your friend when you’re free?_ ’

‘ _Of course._ ’

* * *

This was not a good plan.

“Your entire Guild has a death wish,” Yeonjun muttered as he watched the three younger Mages rush into engage the Shadow Octoten Guild’s members into a fight. The three younger Mages decided that they were going to take as many of the Dark Guild out before Yeonjun had to step into the battle. Yeonjun protested saying that was stupid – he preferred a more incognito method, but again, he lost the majority vote (he doubted that he would have won against these three regardless of what happened). “This isn’t going to end well,” he predicted as he watches the three Mages engage into battle.

Yeonjun closed his eyes as he weighed the options of everything in front of him. In all honesty, he was surprised that he hadn’t decided to just walk away by now.

When he was younger, his mother once told him that one person could change the entire course of his life. At that time, he pouted and asked what if he would never find that person but now, he wondered why it took so long to find someone to change him? He shook his head as he opened his eyes. Yeonjun decided that question could be asked after he saved him.

“Okay, I’m changing their plan,” Yeonjun decided on his own.

Instead of waiting for their signal, Yeonjun rushed past the three members who were still making their way to Dark Guild’s encampment. He could hear their protests, but there was no time to wait. They could have started to hurt Beomgyu by now.

As Yeonjun ran forward, he dropped his right hand down and moved his left hand to hold his right bicep. In this position, he concentered all his Mana into the palm of his right hand – a brightly lit, vibrant casting circle expanded itself in the center of his palm. In the casting circle, the heat of lightning built up; its emergence started to bring the roar of the Thunder. Slowly, he moved his left down the length of his arm until he gripped his right wrist – Mana followed the path and continued to pour into the center of his palm.

The crackle of lightning began to speed and spread through the air. It crackled and snapped through the air so quickly that it no longer sounded like thunder but a monstrous warning.

The distance between Yeonjun and Shadow Octoten’s encampment closed. Once he reached it, he kicked off and jump into the air as far up as he could. At the height of his jump, he twisted in the air. “ ** _ROAR OF THE LIGHTNING DRAGON_** ,” he shouted before he slammed the built-up Mana of his fist into the ground. The moment that collision of his fist and the ground was made, the lightning split the area. The Dark Guild members were unsure of where to go and many of them were unlucky enough to be embedded with lightning.

When Yeonjun landed, he turned to face the three younger Mages and gave them a thumbs up.

“So, he _is_ a Dragon Slayer,” Soobin said with a stunned expression. “Beomgyu’s boyfriend is a Dragon Slayer. We’ve been arguing with a Dragon Slayer this entire time.”

“He’s so cool,” Hueningkai cried out excitedly as he nodded, “I told him that he was so cool.”

“… “ Taehyun opened his mouth to say something but the words didn’t come out. He closed his mouth and tilted his head to the right. “Well, at the very least, we know that we’ll be getting out of this alive. Let’s just hope we can find Beomgyu before anything else happens.” He reached for his deck of cards, “Come on, let’s not let him show us up. We are BH Mages, aren’t we?”

* * *

There was a shift in the battle.

Yeonjun had led their attack and quickly became in embedded into the center of the battle. The Lightning Dragon Slayer had always been quick to adapt to the tides of war – it was a dance in the danger with thunder as his song. The way Yeonjun sailed through the battlefield, feet light and lightning explosive, he was untouchable. The Dark Mages struggled to keep up with him and by the time they caught him, they were kissed by the sharp edge of lightning.

With Yeonjun in the center of the fight, Taehyun quickly reached for his cards. He charged the decks and launched them into the Mages – each card shuffled through the air, the momentum in the air increased their strength before they cornered into the attackers. Taehyun’s dance in battle was different from Yeonjun’s. Where Yeonjun’s style was more fluid, more electric, Taehyun’s was sharper and more calculated. Each twist and turn, he would aim his cards at the attacker – his cards moved with purpose, they aimed at their targets without hesitation.

Hueningkai was nervous but nervousness never stopped him. Not when people were counting on him. In the brief moments with him, Yeonjun had been able to teach him how to anchor his humanity to a safe memory. Before he tapped his Mana into his Beast Soul Magic, Kai closed his eyes and let the memory play into a loop – remember the warmth, the kindness and the safety that came with it. He closed his eyes. Unlike before, the Beast Soul didn’t turn loose. Instead, it became a part of him – a friend that he could rely on. As Kai ran into the crowd, he opened the Beast Soul. The transformation wasn’t painful. Not this time.

Kai shifted into the mammoth of a beast but unlike before, it didn’t hurt to fall into the shift. The Beast Soul didn’t push him to transform, rather it helped into the transformation. This was the first time that Kai was in his Beast form without being in pain and that was trouble for the Dark Mages.

The roar Kai let out caught everyone’s attention. In the midst of attack, Yeonjun halted to looked at him. He held a proud smirk and gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

The one who struggled to move forward was Soobin. The Healer’s hesitation stemmed from the title he had been given: _healer_. He was supposed to heal, not harm and yet he had the ability to do that. This hesitation read across the battle and as the pink-haired Mage arrived next to him, Soobin sighed: _it seemed it was his turn to have a life-altering moment with Yeonjun._

“Why are you still here?” Yeonjun asked as he snapped his fingers to the right. A strike of lightning sharpened and spiked into a crowd of Mages. “If you stay still, you’ll die.”

“Why is dying always your immediate conclusion?” Soobin asked as he reached for Yeonjun’s shoulder. The moment the blue-haired Mage’s hand reached for his shoulder; the healing process began. “Not everything has to lead to death.”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “Standing here will have you dead. You’re _literally_ in the middle of a battlefield with Dark Mages. Don’t tell me that death isn’t attached to it.”

“I’m a Healer, Yeonjun,” Soobin said as his Magic healed the light wounds the older Mage had, “I’m not good in battle. I don’t think I wou—”

“Anything can be good in battle if you know how to use it. Hold on,” Yeonjun moved away from Soobin and shot a bolt of lightning into a group of Dark Mages. He moved to the side and followed up with another set thunder bolts. Then returned to face Soobin, “Anything can be good for battle as long as you know how to use it.”

“I don’t want to use my abilities to hur—”

“Then use them to enhance your friends,” Yeonjun snapped. Why were all the members of this Guild so lost in their abilities? Yeonjun stared at Soobin, “I don’t think you’re telling me the truth with your abilities, but I don’t have the right or care to ask, what I do know is that your friends are fighting hard. So, instead of doing something like waiting, enhance them. You can heal right? Heal them with extra. Make them strong—”

“Is this normal for you?” Soobin asked with a quirked eyebrow at Yeonjun, a growing smirk emerged.

“Don’t smirk at me. That’s my job.”

“No, really, is this normal for you? You come in and kind of just know what to do?” Soobin shrugged as he looked over to the older Mage, “It’s kind of impressive. Heart-fluttering sort of stuff. I get why Beomgyu’s falling head over heels.”

That mention of Beomgyu caused Yeonjun to sputter into a flustered mess. He tripped over the words he wanted to say and ended up with, “Shut up. We’re at war right now.”

“Oh?” Soobin grinned, “You and Beomgyu are so silly.”

“We’re literally in the middle of a wa--,” Yeonjun’s words came to a halt as he reached for Soobin. He grabbed Soobin’s shoulder and shoved him closer to the ground, “There’s a Celestial Spirit here. Shut up for a second, I can’t concentrate.”

‘ _Yeonjun! Yeonjun!’_ Yeonjun could barely hear the Celestial Spirit’s chirp as his eyes scanned the area. The Dragon Slayer could barely see it floating around them, but he could feel it; Celestial Magic was challenging, even for him. ’ _Yeonjun! Yeonjun, I’m Toto ~_ ’’ The spirit was too cheerful for something that flitted into the middle of a battlefield.

Unlike Yeonjun, Soobin couldn’t even see the Celestial Spirit, much less talk to it. The Healer looked at Yeonjun, eyebrow raised in confusion at the situation.

’ _Yeonjun, Beomie asked me to come get you_ ,’ the Celestial Spirit spoke and that was enough for Yeonjun to understand what he needed to do. ’ _Beomie needs help, Yeonjun! Yeonjun, we need to come save him! Beomie needs help!_ ’

Without a second of hesitation, Yeonjun nodded, “Lead the way.”

* * *

That was the thing about time, it never moved the way Beomgyu wanted it to.

The Celestial Mage lay there, unable to move. His eyes stared at the ceiling, unable to focus as he felt his Mana being force-charged and then drained. There was a soft groan that came from Beomgyu as he turned his head to the side. This forced process was too much for him – he could feel himself slip out of his conscious state. _Come on, Beomgyu_ , he thought to himself, _stay strong. You can’t lose to this. You’re an energizer. If you lose to this …if you let this happen, you’re jus—come on, just hang on, Beomgyu. Just hang on a little longer._

“Looks like you’ll be joining the Celestial Realm soon enough,” there was that annoying voice again. The Universe was so cruel. If he was to die here, why did he have to hear that Guild Master’s voice before he did? He felt that Guild Master’s hand cup his chin, turned Beomgyu’s head to look at him. “I want to see the life drain out of your eyes,” he said with a sickening smile, “I want to see the final breath leave your body.” What cruel fate this has become.

“You’re gross,” the words barely escaped Beomgyu. Normally, the Celestial Mage would have a better retort but he was just so tired. Everything felt so heavy. How was this even fair? His life-changing adventure just started, and he even had a romantic interest (kind of? Maybe. He hoped, at least.) but now? The Universe is so cruel. Beomgyu could feel his vision blur, exhaustion, and the fallen tears.

“You really don’t know your place,” the Guild Master brushed his fingers against Beomgyu’s cheek, “It is a shame that you couldn’t have just joined my Guild. We could have been something more.”

Beomgyu closed his eyes – _why couldn’t this just end already?_

“I’ll impart a farewell gift to you,” the Guild Master’s grin could be felt through his words. “A farewell kiss before you leave.”

Beomgyu’s eyes widened. If he ever needed motivation not to give up, this was it. He was not about to be kissed by this disgusting Guild Master. “Eat shit,” Beomgyu said. The revived fire in him lit as he struggled to fight the exhaustion.

“You talk a lot for someone who is about to enter the Celestial Realm, you know?” The Guild Master leaned in, hovered above Beomgyu, “This is my goodbye to you.”

_Please, Universe. If you are listening, my name is Beomgyu and I need your help. Please do something, anything to stop this monster from kissing me. I can deal with this Mana shit but I do not want my beautiful lips to be tainted by this monster of a Guild Master. Anything. Anything, please. Please._

It was so stupid to plead for help from a Universe that wasn’t listening to him, Beomgyu knew that. He could barely even move from where he laid.

Until the Universe did listen.

The roar of thunder filled the room; its echo shook those ugly grey walls, making them fear for themselves. A crackle of lightning split the fear that Beomgyu had – he had never been scared of the lightning, but now, he finds it to be comforting. The heat of the lightning shuffled past Beomgyu and went directly into the Guild Master; its strength shoved the Guild Master off of the Celestial Mage and through the machine that had been forcefully attached onto the Celestial Mage.

“Sorry, he’s mine,” the voice of Beomgyu’s favorite pink-haired Mage came through clearly – strong, possessive and safe, “And I don’t like sharing.”

Beomgyu breathed a sigh of relief.

The Universe wasn’t as cruel as he thought it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for making it the end of the chapter! Ending it on another fun cliff-hanger ~ As I said in the previous chapter, this story arc is nearing its completion but the entirety of the DYBIM universe isn't over yet. This arc is just setting up the overall final storyline for our favorite Mages ~ I promise, it'll be fun.
> 
> Thank you again for reading!
> 
> Tune in next time ~
> 
> As always, thank ya! Love ya! Appreciate ya!


	7. Into the Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beomgyu did not sign up to be the Damsel in Distress™. He may have had momentary distress, but he was not helpless, and he was getting really tired of this Guild Master interrupting moments that he enjoyed.

“You’re late. You’re so late. You said you would keep me safe.”

Beomgyu melted into the older Mage’s arms, buried himself into them as he burrowed into his comfort. For the first time all day, Beomgyu felt _safe_. He gently placed his head against Yeonjun’s shoulder but muttered, “You’re late, Yeonjun. I’m mad at you.” His eyes were half-closed, ready to slip into a nice sleep – he was so tired, so exhausted from everything that happened today.

The lightest chuckle came from Yeonjun as he gently rubbed Beomgyu’s back. “I know, I know,” he said, trying to place calm into the younger Mage. “I’ll spend as much time as I need to get your forgiveness, Beomgyu,” he circled his arms around Beomgyu, pulling him closer, “I’m here now, okay.”

“This doesn’t feel real anymore,” Beomgyu muttered as he nuzzled against Yeonjun. He let his eyes shut, “I’m supposed to be on a Quest with my Guildmates, you know? Kang Taehyun said it was supposed to be easy but then we got chased by giant rabbits – not Soobin, I know he looks like one but I mean actual rabbits. Then, Dark Mages came …and then we hid in a cave and then I went for a walk and then I was being chased and I ran into you …and …you always save me. I don’t know how you do it, you just always save me.”

Perhaps, his exhaustion added onto his delirium, but Beomgyu’s stream of consciousness came out in verbal form. By the time, he got to talking about Yeonjun …Beomgyu looked over to the older Mage and smiled, “You feel like a dream sometimes.”

Normally, it was Yeonjun who could easily ignite Beomgyu’s heart but it seemed that this time around, Yeonjun was bested. He blinked a few times, trying to force the blush from rising in his cheeks. Heart-fluttering statements were supposed to be his specialty, but Beomgyu has always been the more surprising of the two of them. Instead of finding the right things to say, Yeonjun just pressed a kiss against on the top of Beomgyu’s head.

“As much as I like hearing you talk, we need to get out of here. Let’s continue this later, baby,” Yeonjun suggested as he looked around. The lightning he struck the Guild Master with wasn’t enough to defeat him, just enough to blast him a few rooms over.

Beomgyu gasped and looked up at Yeonjun. His eyes narrowed, accusingly stared at him before he asked, “Did you just call me …”

“Baby,” Yeonjun interjected without letting him finish asking the question. Instead, he swept his arms under Beomgyu and lifted him up, bridal style. “Our time up here is up, we need to go. We can continue this later once we’re out of here.”

* * *

“And that is the end of that,” Taehyun said as the final Dark Mage on the outside fell. He trudged over to where Soobin and Hueningkai sat before he let himself collapse next to them. His eyes scanned the area, making sure that everyone was down for the count. He looked over to the two of them, “How are you two? Still alive?”

“I’m alive, but I’m dead,” Kai said as he laid down, sprawled across the ground with his head against Soobin’s leg. “No, I think I’m mostly dead. I’ve never fought that hard consciously. It’s amazing though. I’m happy.”

Soobin reached over and ruffled the younger Mage’s hair, “You worked hard today, Hueningkai. You did so great.” The blue-haired healer looked over to Taehyun and gave him a smile, “You worked hard today too, Taehyunnie. You saved us so many times. Give me a little bit of time to recover some Mana and I can start healing both of you.”

Taehyun nodded at the older Mage before he laid down. He put his head on Soobin’s other leg, opposite of where Kai laid. The blonde looked up at the sky, then glanced over to Soobin and let out a soft sigh as he closed his eyes. This wasn’t the time to daydream, as he opened his eyes he asked, “How is _that_ Yeonjun still able to fight? How has his Mana not completely disappeared yet? Hasn’t he been fighting before we met him? It doesn’t make sense to. Like, logically, it doesn’t make sense.”

“Dragon Slayers are on different levels,” Kai mused, looking over to where Yeonjun should have gone. “You’ve seen how our Guild’s Dragon Slayers are in battle. The Virtues are just on a different level.”

“They are,” Soobin added in, “But honestly, it’s different. Right, Taehyun?”

“I was on a Quest with Namjoon last time and although, it’s difficult, you can still sense Dragon Slayer’s Mana. This one is different,” Taehyun frowned as he tried to search his brain for an answer. There wasn’t one that made sense to him. He sighed, “I can’t tell. I couldn’t even see his casting circles. His spells happened to quic—”

Kai let out the loudest gasp as he threw his arms upward. As his arms fell back on him, he wrapped them around himself, “It’s the power of Love.”

Taehyun reached over and smacked the back of Hueningkai’s head. “That’s not it. Don’t be stupid.”

“Love makes you stronger, Taehyun! It makes you strong! Master said that there’s Magic more powerful than what we know and it’s got to be the power of love!” Kai insisted as he threw his hands up in the air, “I think there’s some secrets we’re probably better off not learning. I just hope whatever he runs on doesn’t disappear and Beomgyu comes back to us safely.”

“Well, I think, Beomgyu will be fine,” Soobin said as his eyes narrowed toward the direction Yeonjun had ran off to. He maintained silence for a moment before he attempted to lighten their mood, “Though right now, I’m thinking after this is all over, we should all eat something delicious. I really want to eat something delicious to reward ourselves for today. Pork belly sounds amazing.”

* * *

“You can put me down, Yeonjun,” Beomgyu made a very small attempt to get out of Yeonjun’s arms, but if he was honest, he was enjoying this. Not having to run around and being carried like this? Beomgyu wished that it could last forever, but he knew better than that. He moved his head to look at Yeonjun, “Come on, it’ll be easier on you if you don’t have to run and carry me, YJ.”

There was the option to throw a fuss and kick about until Yeonjun let him go, but as it went, their situation was already dangerous. The last thing Beomgyu wanted was to cause Yeonjun anymore trouble than they were already in.

“Please, YJ,” Beomgyu pleaded with him, “Please, it’ll be easier for you, if I’m not being carried.”

“Maybe I like carrying you,” Yeonjun added but slowed his run into a walk. The walk came into a stop until he finally let Beomgyu down, “Sorry, I know you’re tired from all of … _that_. I just thought you could rest a little bit.” As he let Beomgyu down, his eyes continued to scan their immediate area, “Stay close, Beomgyu. You shouldn’t summon any of your Celestials right now.”

There was nothing that annoyed the Celestial Mage more than not being able to do what he wanted to and this was one of those moments. Beomgyu knew for a fact that if he could summon his Celestial Spirits, then this whole situation could have been much easier; a fully charged Aquarius could have easily taken care of that Shadow Octoten’s gross Guild Master with one quick tidal wave. His foot gently kicked at the loose gravel, the frown on his face deepened its etch as he sighed – _What was the point of having all that Magic if he couldn’t save the people he cared for?_

This whole situation was because Beomgyu _couldn’t_ do anything. Instead, he became an unwitting target for this whole Dark Guild mess. If he was stronger, maybe he would have been able to witness that Mana drain for Celestial Mages and still help fight? Maybe he was just a shi—

“Stop it, you look like you’re overthinking,” Yeonjun’s voice rang through the heavy thoughts that filled Beomgyu’s mind. At the sound of his voice, Beomgyu’s eyes moved from the loose gravel to the bright Mage in front of him. Their eyes connected just briefly before Yeonjun leaned in and Beomgyu made a decision: Yeonjun’s lips were so good that he could forget his own name the longer he felt them. When Yeonjun broke the kiss, Beomgyu leaned forward, trying to keep them together. Yeonjun smirked, “Like I said before, we can continue this later. Let’s get out of here first.”

“Yeah …yeah,” Beomgyu nodded as he tried to pull himself out of the daze, “Let’s ge---”

In that moment, all Beomgyu could do was scream. How could such happy moments be so fleeting?

* * *

“I’m giving you one more chance,” Yeonjun’s eyes were dead set on Shadow Octoten’s Guild Master. Those warm, kind eyes that Beomgyu had always seen had sharpened into daggers with such anger that he wondered how this Guild Master hadn’t ran off yet. The sound of Yeonjun’s boots against the ground only further emphasized his anger, “You let him go, or I’m going to take him from you.”

Beomgyu did not sign up to be the _Damsel in Distres_ s™. He may have had momentary distress, but he was not helpless, and he was getting really tired of this Guild Master interrupting moments that he enjoyed. The Guild Master’s hand tightened its grip on Beomgyu’s head – why this man was obsessed with holding his head, Beomgyu couldn’t figure out but what he did know was that he hated having this man’s hands on him. So, the struggle began.

As Yeonjun threatened the Guild Master, Beomgyu began to use every ounce of energy he had left to try and break free from his grip. Desperate times called for desperate measures – it was time for Beomgyu to **S.I.N.G.**

Before he left for his journey, his older brother taught him to S.I.N.G.: “ _You’re so small that people would probably grab you from behind to snatch you. I’m not saying that I care, but I don’t want to be the only son in the family,” his brother had insisted at the time, “So, I’m going to teach you something useful when you’re in a bad situation. So, pay attention._ ”

Beomgyu pulled his right elbow forward before he shoved it backward and into the Guild Master’s **S** tomach. As the Guild Master’s grip on him loosened, Beomgyu lifted his right foot and brought it down with such force on the man’s **I** n-step. Then as he twisted his body, he shoved his left elbow as far up as he could in an attempt to hit the man’s **N** ose. And just for good measure, Beomgyu moved away from him and kneed him in the **G** roin.

“Stop touching people, you nasty,” Beomgyu shouted as he broke free from the Guild Master and started to run to his safety. He settled himself behind Yeonjun. As he caught his breath, he peered over Yeonjun’s shoulder and stuck his tongue out at the Guild Master, “Gross asshat.”

Although, Beomgyu was able to distance himself from the Guild Master …this was a world where Magic was involved.

The Guild Master’s abilities were centered around shadows. Dark casting circles formed around the two Mages. As Beomgyu turned to look at the casting circles behind where he stood, Yeonjun once against picked him up. The moment Beomgyu was secured in Yeonjun’s arms, the pink-haired Mage ran forward, hurried away from where the casting circles were – they narrowly missed the shadowy arms that erupted from the circles. However, wherever Yeonjun was able to move to, the casting circles followed.

The Dragon Slayer set Beomgyu down for a moment before he warned, “I need to close some of those casting circles. Don’t go far.” Yeonjun ran forward, he snapped his fingers and a bolt of lightning breathed out in the palm of his hands. He jumped forward and threw the materialized lightning into the center of the casting circles – each time a lightning bolt landed in the center, it short circuited a casting circle. He ran through a few times, trying to cancel as many of them as he could. Beomgyu’s hands turned into fists as he quietly cheered Yeonjun on but the cheering didn’t last long.

“Ahh,” Beomgyu let out a cry for help as a shadowy hand came out of a nearby casting circle. The hand slithered and grabbed at his jacket, gripping the cloth as tightly as it could. Beomgyu shuffled away, twisted himself as he wriggled out of the jacket. “Gross, gross,” Beomgyu muttered as he looked back at the hands.

‘ _Duck!!_ ’

At warning, Beomgyu ducked down and rolled forward. He blinked a few times and looked around for the voice’s owner. Despite the danger, Beomgyu smiled, “Toto?”

The Celestial Spirit fluttered in front of Beomgyu. It circled around Beomgyu, chirping happily as it landed atop the Celestial Mage’s head. ‘ _I found you again!_ ’ – it wasn’t uncommon for Celestial Mages and Celestial Spirits to be able to communicate, they were connected to each other. ‘ _Friend, it’s dangerous_ ,’ it chirped, ’ _I’ll help you get out of here_.’

* * *

The sound of Beomgyu’s footsteps being led away was enough to calm Yeonjun’s worry. He looked up at the Guild Master with a growing smirk.

“You made a big mistake, Octavian,” Yeonjun announced.

Shadow Octoten’s Guild Master looked over at the Dragon Slayer and shook his head. He let out a sigh, “It’s a pity. I am not interested in you. Celestial Mages ar—”

“He’s off limits, Octavian,” Yeonjun interjected. Yeonjun slowly began to crack his fingers, a warning that the battle between them was about to begin. His eyes sharpened at the Guild Master. “You shouldn’t have tried your luck with him. Your Guild could have been left standing.”

The older Mage snorted, scoffed at Yeonjun’s words, “You expect me to believe that? Any time you’re seen at any Dark Guild, that Guild is destroyed. What is your intent, Dragon Slayer? What are you trying to accomplish?”

“I guess, you’ll never know.”

There was no need for any warning shots.

Yeonjun snapped his fingers and summoned lightning to strike around the Guild Master. As the Guild Master dodged the streaks of electricity, Yeonjun rushed forward – he kicked off the ground, launching himself into the air as he threw a punch toward the Guild Master. The attack was caught, blocked by the Mage. With his fist caught in the Guild Master’s hand, Yeonjun twisted his body in the air, angled himself to throw a kick at the Guild Master – he focused his Mana into the core of his foot, letting the lightning building up as he swung his leg over. It hit the Guild Master at the side of his head. The blow took the man by surprise; the Guild Master was blown back into a nearby wall.

Yeonjun landed softly across from the Guild Master.

He hoped Beomgyu could get out of here safely.

“Lucky shot,” the Guild Master called out.

Casting circles often enlarged when more Mana was poured into it, but at the same time, where these circles were formed gave way to their targets. Yeonjun shifted his focus from the Guild Master to the growing number of casting circles – _Why is he making so many?_ – and as the numbers grew, Yeonjun shot bolts of lightning into their centers. He ran across the immediate area, trying to herd the casting circles only in their area – Beomgyu needed to get out.

_Where was Beomgyu?_

The footsteps of the Celestial Mage were getting lighter until Yeonjun heard them come a halt. A scowl and a low growl of annoyance came from him. As much as he would have loved to keep his focus on the Guild Master, he knew he couldn’t. Yeonjun clasped his hands together and slowly pulled the apart – a crackle of electricity snapped as he separated his hands. Between his hands, sparks of lightning emerged. “ **Indiscriminate Shock – Rolling Thunder** ,” Yeonjun shouted as he threw the ball of lightning toward the Guild Master. Without looking back at the Guild Master, Yeonjun turned toward the direction Beomgyu had ran towards, “Beomgyu, what are you doing?”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Yeonjun to find his Celestial Mage, he didn’t get very far. Beomgyu’s exit path had been blocked by some of Shadow Octoten’s stragglers. The Dark Mages approached Beomgyu, but before they took another step forward, Yeonjun shot a block lightning at them.

“You okay?” He asked as he walked next to Beomgyu, “You didn’t get hurt, right?”

“I was trying to get out of your way,” Beomgyu admitted, “Toto was leading me out. I didn’t know there were still Dark Mages here ….” The Celestial Mage’s expression fell into one of embarrassment, “Sorry, you keep having to save me. I promise I’m not this weak …, I’m not.”

“I know,” Yeonjun assured him, “This place is just unfair.”

“I can do better than this, YJ,” Beomgyu frowned. His voice was laced with sadness; he didn’t lift his eyes to look at Yeonjun. “I promise I can do better than this. I don’t always need saving.”

“I know, that’s why that asshat is gunning for you so hard. You’re stronger than---,” Yeonjun’s words were cut off as Beomgyu ran past him. Beomgyu’s hand pressed against Yeonjun’s chest, pushing him backwards and out of the way. “Damn it,” Yeonjun scowled as the Guild Master’s attacked collided with Beomgyu instead of him, “Beomgyu, what are you doing?”

The Celestial Mage was thrown into the air as the ball of Shadows connected but he never hit the ground.

Yeonjun shielded his eyes from the brightness. The Dragon Slayer may have been one of lightning, but the opening of a Celestial Door burned so brightly that the Shadows fizzled away.

“My precious, Beomgyu,” the voice said softly. A sharply dressed man held Beomgyu in his arms, “You’ve worked so hard, darling.” There was a fondness in his voice as he looked at the Celestial Mage; he kept quiet for a moment as he looked at the sleeping Mage, “You’ve done well today.”

“Forced Celestial Entry,” Yeonjun said as he stepped forward, “I never thought I would be able to see Celestial Spirits strong enough to open their doors without their Mage’s key.”

“Well, we wouldn’t have had to step in if you would have done your job and protected my darling, Beomgyu,” the Celestial Spirit of Leo retorted. He glared at Yeonjun from behind his sunglasses and lifted Beomgyu closer to him, “You don’t deserve _my_ Beomgyu’s attention.”

 _My_ Beomgyu? That was a wrong statement. Yeonjun quirked an eyebrow upward, annoyance at the sudden possessiveness that was placed. First the Guild Master and now, Beomgyu’s own Celestial Spirit. The scowl on Yeonjun’s face deepened.

“What? No words?” Leo chided in, “It’s alright. Beomgyu needs a real man who will keep him safe and I’ll be the one to kee—”

Aquarius dowsed Leo with water to end the bubbling argument. As she settled her water pot against her hip, she looked over to Beomgyu. The usual anger in her expression softened, just happy that he was still alive with minor damage.

 _Double Forced Celestial Entrances_. Yeonjun was surprised – Celestial Spirits were only able to push themselves out if their bond with their Mages was strong. As rare as Celestial Mages were in this world, it seemed that Beomgyu was even rarer than all of them. How unexpected.

“Dragon Slayer,” Aquarius finally chimed in. Her eyes turned into an icy blue as she eyed Yeonjun up and down, “Why aren’t you fighting at full capacity? Why hold back?”

The amazed expression Yeonjun had fizzled into one of more seriousness. He looked over at the Celestial Spirit with curiosity – Celestial Spirits were just as curious as their Mages were, it seemed. He gave her a smile and nodded, “I can’t afford to go all out. Not yet. I can’t let stray lightning hurt Beomgyu.”

“If we get Beomgyu to his Guildmates, you can handle this?”

“Less than ten minutes.”

Leo frowned, “Are you sure we should leave him to this alone? I don’t think he’s going to b—”

“We’ll get Beomgyu out of here,” Aquarius announced as she gestured for Leo to follow her. “We’ll clear out whatever else is on the way and get him to his Guildmates. Make sure that bastard pays for hurting this brat, Dragon Slayer.”

“Go.”

* * *

“It’s weird,” Aquarius stole a glance behind her, “The Dragon Slayer’s Mana, it’s not the normal.”

“You sensed it too?” Leo rose an eyebrow at her. He lifted his Celestial Mage up gently, making sure not to wake him as he ran forward. Aquarius took care of any of the incoming attacks, “It’s there. His Mana, but it shielded by Celestial Magic and …I can’t figure out the rest.”

“We need to keep a closer eye on Beomgyu,” Aquarius nodded. The Waterbearer rarely let worry show on her face – she worried about the wrinkles after all – but if anything threatened her favorite brat, she knew she would have to get involved. The same goes for Leo, “This brat fell for the first pretty face he saw and didn’t bother to learn anything else about him.”

“Tsk, he could have just fallen for my pretty face. Imagine that love story?”

Aquarius chose to ignore Leo’s previous statement and continued, “His Mana’s too hazy, even for me to figure out. It’s mixed. There’s too much haze and unclosed casting circles. When we get back our realm, I’ll do a little more research. We have to protect our brat from being hurt by anyone.”

* * *

“You can’t run forever, Dragon Slayer!”

Yeonjun leaned against the wall, his back pressed against the cool stone as he closed his eyes. The problem with working with people always was the amount of cautiousness that needed to be done. He sighed as he let the Guild Master chase him through the castle. Yeonjun rolled his head over to the right and over to the left, before he centered it again; he sighed as he counted down the time, “ …and that’s ten minutes.”

The air in the battlefield shifted.

Yeonjun emerged from where he had hidden and ran straight for the Guild Master. The grace in his fight style molded into an aggressive shift – he wasted no time as he rushed the Guild Master, drawing a fist into the man and letting the extension of lightning connect them. The Guild Master was thrown backward, slid across the ground.

“You made a mistake, Octavian,” Yeonjun repeated as he grinned. The sound of the weather shifted outside – a clash of thunder broke the clouds, sparks of lightning sparked in the air. “ **Thunder Set** ,” Yeonjun said quietly as he snapped his fingers. The burn of electricity broke through the castle they stood in; the intensity of its lightning began to envelop their immediate surroundings.

“Are you _mad_?” Shadow Octoten hissed as he quickly tried to create casting circles, “Are you trying to kill both of us?”

* * *

At the sound of thunder, Soobin jolted up from where he had sat and caused both Hueningkai and Taehyun to scramble from where they lay. Soobin’s eyes panicked across the sky, taking in the sight before them – the skies were clear previously, where did the thunder come from?

“He’s insane,” Taehyun decided as he stood up. He dusted off his pants as he looked toward the sky, “He’s a hundred percent insane.”

Hueningkai couldn’t even comment. His mouth dropped open as he looked at the weather’s immediate shift. The lightning was terrifying. He tried to say something, but instead, he just pointed at the sky and looked at Soobin. Though, if Soobin were asked, Kai didn’t have to say anything else.

“Where is he getting that Mana from?” Taehyun knew that his puzzlement wouldn’t receive an answer despite the repetition. He bit the inside of his cheek, “We’re on such different levels.” The realization caused him to frown – the difference between him and the Dragon Slayers in their Guild was already large, but against Yeonjun? Taehyun’s brows furrowed.

Soobin placed a hand on Taehyun’s shoulder, “You’re doing fine. Don’t do that thing.”

“What thing? I’m not doing anything.” Taehyun looked up at him, the obvious frown in his expression.

“You’re doing fine, Taehyun. Believe me.”

“Well, I _believe_ that we have a different problem!” Kai shouted as he shifted where he pointed to from the sky to the incoming figures. “I am pretty sure that’s a mermaid and I didn’t know mermaids could travel on land so easily? But that’s a mermaid, right? Yeah. A mermaid.”

Taehyun brought a hand to his temple and let out a groan. It was one thing after another; it was the day that never wanted to end. They couldn’t figure out if this _mermaid_ was friend or foe. The closer the mermaid got, another figure was with it and this figure was carrying Beomgyu.

“Don’t attack,” Soobin shouted as he waved his hands in front of Taehyun and Kai. “One of them is carrying Beomgyu. I don’t think they’re enemies.”

“Here, be gentle with my precious Mage,” Leo said as he handed Beomgyu over to Soobin. The Celestial Spirit didn’t release his hold on Beomgyu until he was sure that Soobin wouldn’t drop him. “He’s been through a lot today.”

“He’s okay though, right?” Kai asked immediately. Without needing any signal, Kai reached over to help Soobin carry Beomgyu – he loved Soobin and thought the man was very strong, but not physically. He looked at the sleeping Celestial Mage, “He’ll wake up, right?”

Aquarius nodded, “That brat will wake up. He wasn’t hurt too badly. His Dragon Slayer took care of most of the damages with that exception of one.” The mermaid’s harsh expression softened as she brushed a hand against Beomgyu’s cheek, “Our favorite brat is a lot tougher than this. He’ll be fine.”

“We need to go, Aquarius. Or he won’t wake quickly,” Leo commented as he pressed a kiss on Beomgyu’s forehead, “Our lovely Mage won’t wake if we don’t close our Celestial Gates soon.” He turned over to Soobin, “You’re a healer. Heal him and heal him well.”

Confusion was painted across Soobin’s face but the blue-haired Mage nodded in response. His intentions were to heal everyone as soon as his Mana was recharged. Just little more time was needed before he could start. “I will,” he assured the Celestial Spirits, “I’ll take care of him.”

Leo grinned in approval at Soobin’s reassurance. His eyes flickered behind his sunglasses from Soobin to Taehyun, “You haven’t said a word, blondie? Not too concerned about Beomgyu?”

Taehyun’s eyes shifted from the growing thunderstorm to Beomgyu. He shrugged, “You said he was tough and that he’ll be fine. So, he’ll be fine.” The flatness of his voice agitated the Spirit of the Lion but Taehyun’s concern returned to the thunderstorm, “He’s doing it, isn’t he? Yeonjun.”

“The Dragon Slayer is no ordinary Dragon Slayer,” Aquarius commented. She fell into silence as she watched the same storm as Taehyun. With a quiet nod, she continued, “But I don’t think you’re in danger. Just be glad his concern for Beomgyu is more than expected.”

“Better on the same side than against,” Leo chimed in, “I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that thunderstorm.”

* * *

“ ** _Elettrico Coronata_**.”

The drop of lightning fell around Yeonjun, turning itself into a quick crown as the Mage’s energy was charged by the power of his element. He grinned at the Guild Master of Shadow Octoten. A glint of excitement bubbled in his eyes that sharpened as the clash of thunder echoed. The lightning crown enveloped Yeonjun and the winner of the battle was already set.

The lightning sparked around the top of his head – a crown of electricity.

“I told you, you made a mistake, Octavian. You and I were always a bad match up. Shadows versus lightning?” The lightning’s gaze made Yeonjun’s smirk so sinister that it drove fear into the Shadow Octoten’s Guild Master. Electricity trickled through Yeonjun and each step he took filled the ground with voltage. “And then you made the worst decision of your life. You decided to target Beomgyu.”

“You don’t have to do this. I can work with you,” the Guild Master attempted to plead with the Dragon Slayer, “I can help you. I can help you drain Ma—”

Yeonjun became lightning. His speed jolted as quickly as lightning would strike. In the beat of a heart, he was next to the Guild Master laid. He leaned down and whispered, “You made him cry and I can’t let that go.”

The thunder roared.

Yeonjun brought a hand to the top of his head. As he lifted his hand from his head, the crown of thunder followed. The glint in his eyes sparked brightly as he held the mass of thunder above the Guild Master:

“ ** _Elettrico Reverse_**.”

The battle had been decided even before the final strike.

Lightning never struck twice.

So, Yeonjun always made sure to finish a fight with leaving anything behind.

* * *

Recovery took a few days and even if the few days, Beomgyu wasn’t sure about all of the details that happened. The shifty Mayor from a few days ago wasn’t actually as shifty as Beomgyu initially thought – the weird behavior was from the fear of the Dark Guild in the area. With the Dark Guild eliminated, the city of Andalusia returned to its more vibrant, lively self. In apology for their troubles, the Mayor put them up in a hotel, free of charge; their meals were also comped (Kai and Soobin dove straight into the dessert bar the moment they were told this). The first thing they did was put up its original protection charms – Beomgyu didn’t have to worry about having his Mana stolen with those protection charms around his room.

The Celestial Mage laid in the bed; eyes focused on the ceiling above him. He was back to his usual stats, but he didn’t want to be put to work – the last thing Beomgyu wanted to do was paperwork and follow up questions with the citizens of this city. So, every time that Soobin went to his room, Beomgyu pretended to be completely knocked out. If there was one thing Beomgyu was good at, it was getting out of doing something he didn’t want to do.

“… hurry up,” Beomgyu muttered to himself as he listened for Soobin’s footsteps to leave the hallway. He pressed his ear against the door and listened for the blue-haired Mage to disappear from the hallway and down the stairs. He let out a breath of relief before he reached for the doorknob. Quietly, he opened the door and slowly peered out, just to make sure that hallway was empty. Once he was satisfied, he ushered himself to the room at the very end of the hall.

It’s just a door.

Beomgyu stared at it as he tried to convince himself to knock on it. Besides, he might not even be there. So, it wouldn’t hurt to just knock. The Celestial Mage’s conversation with himself bounced around in his mind. His face twisted in frustration for a moment before he heard a voice call out, “It’s open, Beomgyu. You can come in.”

* * *

“How did you know I wa--,” Beomgyu’s question was interrupted when Yeonjun answered, “I could hear you shuffling around outside. I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who would come over to visit my room. I don’t think your Guildmates are _exactly_ excited to be my friend right now.”

“They’ll come around. They’re more excited about eating right now. Free food always gets everyone hyped up,” Beomgyu chimed in as he watched Yeonjun from where he stood. The pink-haired Mage was in the midst of packing up his belongings – Beomgyu curiously eyed the things that were being wrapped up. There was a lot about the older Mage that Beomgyu didn’t know but he was willing to learn; he paid attention to the gentleness that Yeonjun put into packing his things, how meticulous he was in making sure everything was wrapped up gently.

“Are you leaving already?” Beomgyu asked quietly as he played with the loose threads of his sweater sleeves.

“I should be heading out tonight,” Yeonjun answered as he folded his extra clothes, “I need to get back to the Capital after this and it takes a few days to get back. The faster I get there, the better, honestly.”

“Oh …,” Beomgyu sighed. The silent drop of his heart appeared as in the form of the small pout of his lips. His eyes continued to watch Yeonjun as he finished packing – he’d never noticed how broad Yeonjun’s shoulders were. The Celestial Mage breathed out softly. “You need to report to the King about what happened, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s what happens after a Quest,” Yeonjun answered as he finished filling his bag. He tightened the drawstrings, then laced it tightly. Once satisfied with the security of his bag, he turned to face Beomgyu.

It was hard for Beomgyu to meet Yeonjun’s eyes – he tried to find interest in everything except for the older Mage in front of him. Confidence was something Beomgyu could project, but when he stood in front of Yeonjun, nervousness took over him. He nervously licked the bottom of his lips as he finally convinced himself to look up at Yeonjun, “I …um, I owe you for saving me and taking care of my Guildmates. I owe you … remember?”

The easy smile on Yeonjun’s lips made Beomgyu’s heart skip. Strands of pink swayed as Yeonjun shook his head, “You don’t owe me anything, Beomgyu.”

“Oh …,” Beomgyu quietly answered without attempting to mask the growing disappointment in him. There were things that Beomgyu wanted to happen when he offered to give himself to Yeonjun, but perhaps, that was a one-sided desire. His eyes shifted away from Yeonjun’s eyes, he couldn’t look into them so he settled for Yeonjun’s lips instead. Beomgyu wondered if they were as soft as he remembered them to be.

A soft chuckle came from Yeonjun. “Beomgyu, if you want to kiss me, you can just kiss me, you know,” Yeonjun might have offered the suggestion to Beomgyu, but he was the one stepped forward. His hand pressed against Beomgyu’s cheek gently – Beomgyu placed his hand on top of Yeonjun’s as he finally brought his eyes to look into Yeonjun’s. The older Mage guided Beomgyu into the kiss. Beomgyu’s hands finally moved from where they lamely hung and onto Yeonjun’s broad shoulders.

Beomgyu could get used to moments like this.

* * *

“I joined the BH Guild, you know?” Beomgyu said absentmindedly as he laid himself down on Yeonjun’s hotel room bed. His fingers brushed against his lips and wondered why they had to stop kissing – he could have kept going if he was honest. He looked over to where the older Mage had moved to – Yeonjun moved his bags over to a nearby chair. The pink-haired Mage paused to look at the map on the coffee table; he didn’t lift his head but gave Beomgyu a soft hum of acknowledgement. Unsatisfied with Yeonjun’s lack of enthusiasm, Beomgyu sat up and asked, “You said you’d join if I found a good one, remember?”

“I did, but I can’t. Not yet, Beomgyu,” Yeonjun said as he circled a location on the map. Beomgyu never thought he could be jealous of a map, but this map stole attention that _should_ have been his. “I have to finish a few more Quests before I can join. I don’t want anyone who’s after me to go after you, Beomgyu.”

Beomgyu’s lips formed a quiet ‘Oh’. There was so much about Yeonjun that Beomgyu was unaware of, but that’s why this was so unfair to the younger Mage. How was he supposed to unravel the mysteries of the older Mage if he barely had any time with him? It was always so quick, so fast and it never was enough for him.

“When will I see you again? Will I even see you again?” Beomgyu knew he was being unfair. Yeonjun worked for the King and had duties beyond what Beomgyu knew – he knew this, but Beomgyu wanted more than these quick moments. His brows needed in frustration as he pouted, “Do you even want to see me again?”

The last question was on the one that caught Yeonjun’s attention. The slow turn of his head, the soft shift of his gaze caused a blush to grow on Beomgyu’s cheeks. “You really think that I don’t want to see you again?”

“I don’t know,” Beomgyu shrugged at him, “I can’t tell. It’s not like you’re ever going to say ‘Beomgyu, I like you. I want to see you again.’ Nope,” Beomgyu shook his head, “You’re going to say, ‘You’re mine.’ But I don’t even know what _mine_ is. My side-piece? My fun-time distraction?”

Yeonjun scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

“Am I wrong?”

“Yes.”

Yeonjun answered the question so quickly that Beomgyu was taken aback. He blinked a few times before he stood up and pointed at Yeonjun, “You’re frustrating.”

“Ten days,” Yeonjun said. He looked up as if he was counting the time, “It’s going to take me a few days to get to the Capital. Give me ten days and I’ll come by and see you again. You live in the same area as the BH Guild, right?”

“You’re actually going to come?”

Yeonjun closed the gap between them as he slid his arms around Beomgyu’s waist. The Celestial Mage let out a quiet gasp as Yeonjun pulled him closer. There was no hiding the blush that came as Yeonjun leaned in and whispered, “Beomgyu, I like you. I want to see you again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that wraps up the Shadow Octoten arc. Thank you guys for making it through here - I appreciate you all for reading through all those chapters. Shadow Octoten's arc is done, but the main overall storyline is under way now.
> 
> Tune in to the next chapter for the return of the Seven Virtues and some entertaining BH Guild antics. More of YJ's backstory will be explained in the next chapter as well.
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience with this.  
> Thank ya! Appreciate ya! Love ya!
> 
> See next ya next chapter, friends!


	8. Into the Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s only been two days, huh?” Beomgyu absentmindedly asked. He put the rest of the wafer in his mouth before he asked Taehyun, “How long does it take to get to the King’s Castle from here?”
> 
> “We’re not going to the King’s Castle,” Taehyun rolled his eyes as he started to eat his meal. The food at the BH Guild was always top-tier, after all. As members of the Guild, they never had to pay for their meals as long as a portion of their Quest rewards goes to the Guild.
> 
> “No, I just want to know how long it would take to get there from here. How many days?”
> 
> Taehyun raised his eyebrow at Beomgyu, “ _You_ are **not** going to the King’s Castle alone. It’s not like they would grant just anyone audience with the King.”

“Ah, why are you eating it like that? Why are you eating like a bird?”

Beomgyu looked up at Taehyun, defiance burned into his eyes as he methodically and slowly bit into the wafer. He bit the sides slowly to expose the filling as much as he could before he ceremoniously popped the small bit of chocolate into his mouth. Once he finished with one piece, he reached over for a sealed wafer and slowly tore the wrapper off. The smugness in his smile only grew even wider as the wrapper opened with each tear.

“Oh, just give me that,” Taehyun’s frustration came as he grabbed the wrapped from Beomgyu and opened it up himself before he shoved the wafer back into Beomgyu’s hands.

“Wow, Taehyun,” Beomgyu smiled happily, “You’re so sweet. So, so sweet.” He grinned before he started to eat the wafer exactly the same as before, much to Taehyun’s chagrin.

“You’re so frustrating,” Taehyun said as his expression formed into a scowl. “Just eat it normally.”

Beomgyu’s eyes widen brightly as he shrugged, then continued to take his time eating the wafer.

It had been exactly two days since they left Andalusia and returned to the BH Guildhall. Much to Beomgyu’s surprise, there hadn’t been too much fuss when they came back. Everything seemed to move into protocol and at the end of it, they were given their wages for their Quest – not surprisingly, they were given a much higher rate due to the matters of the Shadow Octoten Guild’s involvement. After their reports, they were taken to the med-bay for a quick scan and check-up. Beomgyu’s check-up too much longer than the others – the Mana drainage was of high concern to them, they needed to make sure their Celestial Mage wasn’t suffering any side-effects.

It seemed that the only side-effect Beomgyu had were those yearning thoughts that lingered, but that wasn’t caused by the Mana drain.

“It’s only been two days, huh?” Beomgyu absentmindedly asked. He put the rest of the wafer in his mouth before he asked Taehyun, “How long does it take to get to the King’s Castle from here?”

“We’re not going to the King’s Castle,” Taehyun rolled his eyes as he started to eat his meal. The food at the BH Guild was always top-tier, after all. As members of the Guild, they never had to pay for their meals as long as a portion of their Quest rewards goes to the Guild.

“No, I just want to know how long it would take to get there from here. How many days?”

Taehyun raised his eyebrow at Beomgyu, “ _You_ are **not** going to the King’s Castle alone. It’s not like they would grant just anyone audience with the King.”

Beomgyu sighed as he rolled his eyes, “Don’t you know how to listen? I don’t want to meet the King. I just asked how long it would take? How many days?”

“If the weather is clear, at least, three and a half days,” Taehyun finally answered. He pointed his chopsticks at Beomgyu, “But since it’s you, I’m going to say it’ll take at least five days.”

“Excuse me, Taehyun, I am actually very capable of navigating myself without getting lost. It’s Soobin that would probably take at least five days,” Beomgyu chimed in. Besides, Beomgyu had a Vivre Card …

_“Oh!” Beomgyu gasped as he felt Yeonjun’s hand slip something into his back pocket. There was no hiding the blush that came up on his cheeks. He gently hit Yeonjun’s chest, “Why are you being so handsy right now? Is this how you normally say goodbye to people, perv?”_

_“Just to you,” Yeonjun’s grin only made Beomgyu blush an even deeper shade of red. “It’s a Vivre Card, Beomgyu. I know I said I’d visit you in ten days, but just in case, you can’t wait …you’ll know where to find me. It’s a little different than the ones the Guild’s normally use, but you’ll figure that out when you use it.”_

… “I mean, before I joined the Guild, Soobin had a Vivre Card and he was still taking his time to get to the Guild,” Beomgyu added on as he laughed, “I’m not going anywhere. Not any time soon.”

“Good,” Taehyun said, “Because the Virtues are supposed to be coming back this week and I don’t think anyone should ever miss their return. The Guild is going to get really rowdy again.”

* * *

Beomgyu groaned as he slumped himself on the table. Four days had officially passed and for some reason, the Universe was keen on reminding him that there were indeed 24 hours in a day. Unfortunately, each hour felt so painstakingly slow that Beomgyu wondered if he should find a sleeping spell and sleep for the remaining six days.

“Move, move,” Soobin said as he moved Beomgyu’s arms off of the table as he set his tray down. There was nothing on his tray except for a bowl overflowing with ice cream. “I’m eating breakfast, Beomgyu. Don’t spread your germs here.”

“Breakfast?” Beomgyu looked up from where he was sprawled on and rose an eyebrow at the blue-haired Mage. He straightened himself up, sitting upright before he scoffed, “Ice cream is breakfast?”

“Listen, Choi Beomgyu, I know it’s hard to believe but we live in a world of Magic. Anything is possible,” Soobin said gleefully as he took a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He pointed the spoon at Beomgyu, “Ice cream for breakfast is beyond possible, my friend. Ice cream is a meal for all.”

“Except that it’s not.”

“Anything is possible,” Soobin continued as he ate his ice cream. He hummed happily, bouncing in his seat as he did so, “Besides, you want to be on your best today. Sorcerer Weekly’s got an interviewer coming today. You might be interviewed.”

“Why would I be interviewed?” Beomgyu let out a laugh, “I’m literally the newest member here. Why would I ever be interviewed?” Besides, it would be in his best interest not to be interviewed. With the Dark Guilds looking for Celestial Mages, the last thing he needed was a target painted on his back because of an interview.

Beomgyu was right, of course. He wasn’t the one interviewed by Sorcerer Weekly – Kang Taehyun had the honor of being interviewed. Just like the supportive friends that they were, Beomgyu, Kai and Soobin all sat nearby as Taehyun became the new feature for the famed magazine. And just like the supportive friends that they were, the three of them kept trying to ask Taehyun for an autograph until Taehyun threatened them into silence.

If anyone asked, they were just there for emotional support but Beomgyu was sure that out of all of them, Taehyun was the one who could handle it the best. And that was exactly how Taehyun handled it.

Every question asked, an answer was sparked.

 _What kind of Magic are you proficient in?_ “Cards Magic. I’ve become proficient in various kinds of Cards Magic, but the most special to me is my main deck. Every card has a different spell stored in it. For me, it’s an advantage. For my enemies, it’s basically a Russian Roulette.”

 _Favorite Card on hand?_ “That’s a secret and I won’t tell it. I haven’t used it in battle yet. So, hopefully, no one will ever know what it is. There’s Magic in the mystery.”

 _We’ve heard that you’ve been asked to join the Virtues in some of their Quests. Any insider stories on those Quests_? “I couldn’t believe I was asked to join in their Quests – the Virtues are living legends in the Mage world. So, I was so nervous when Nam—RM had asked me to join him for a Quest. I was so nervous, but he kept giving me advice and helping me stay calm. I really learned a lot from them.”

Beomgyu was impressed at how well Taehyun answered every question. There was such professionalism in his actions that Beomgyu almost forgot that Taehyun yelled at him for eating like a bird a few days ago. It was a different side of the icy blonde Mage and Beomgyu was very impressed. As he stole a glance at Soobin, he realized he wasn’t the only one impressed by this.

Although Beomgyu looked like an angel, looks have always been deceiving.

“Ask him if he’s single,” Beomgyu whispered to the interviewer, “I collected all of Sorcerer Weekly. All the readers like hearing about this.”

Taehyun gave Beomgyu a glare so sharp that Beomgyu felt his heart seize.

“Also, ask him what his ideal date is?” Beomgyu chimed in as he made sure to smile so sickeningly sweet that Soobin had to kick him under the table. The Celestial Mage turned to him and asked, “Don’t you want to know what Kang Taehyun’s ideal date is?”

“Are you single? And as requested, what _is_ your ideal date?” The interviewer humored Beomgyu. She smiled at Taehyun and nodded, “If you don’t mind answering.”

“I’m currently not in a relationship,” Taehyun said, attempting to sound as professional as he could despite mentally planning how to murder Beomgyu in his sleep. Beomgyu snorted at the very cold, very capitalistic smile that Taehyun put on. “As for my ideal date …”

The Celestial Mage knew he would get an earful later, but, as he glanced at the intent gaze from Soobin, he decided it would be worth it.

* * *

There was a familiarity in the frantic footsteps that ran across the castle floor. A lazy smile crawled its way onto Yeonjun’s expression as he listened to the castle’s staff busy themselves with their preparations. The castle hadn’t been this busy when he visited last, but it seemed that despite the current unreasonable hour, they were determined to continue with their preparations.

Not wanting to disturb the already busy waitstaff, Yeonjun ushered himself around them; he shuffled through the hallways, careful not to accidentally interrupt any of them. As he made his way through the long halls, he could hear the excited whispers about their handsome Prince’s return and the possibility of him asking them to the Summoner’s Ball (many of them knew it would never happen, but they were happy enough to imagine). Yeonjun rolled his eyes at the conversation – he never understood the fascination for idle gossip like that.

With the castle so busy, Yeonjun decided what any reasonable person would do at this hour: he decided to make ramen.

The Dragon Slayer frequented the castle’s second kitchen so often that he knew every shortcut there. If he was asked, the noodles in the second kitchen were fresher than the ones in the first one. Besides, the first kitchen was normally full of people and Yeonjun didn’t want to interrupt anyone at the moment.

“Ah,” Yeonjun’s surprise came out softly. He half-expected this kitchen to be empty, but he was greeted with some surprised chefs and sous-chefs – if they were using the second kitchen, they were really preparing something big. The second kitchen’s head chef opened her mouth to protest his presence, but he rose a finger to his lips and gave her a wink, “Shhh.”

The King wouldn’t be _too_ upset about someone making a bowl of ramen. It was _just_ ramen.

Of all the things that Yeonjun’s mother had taught him, the day she taught him to make ramen had always been his favorite. The gentleness of her smile, the grace of her patience when he messed up the amount of water to pour in, the soft pride in her eyes when he finally made it on his own – he missed her with every bowl that he made. He sighed as he made his meal.

“You know,” a hearty chuckled followed the baritone of the voice, “I’m sure the citizens of our Kingdom would be surprised at the amount of ramen that their crowned Prince eats.”

“But on the contrary,” Yeonjun said as he pointed a pair of chopsticks at the regal form of the King, “I think they would be entirely impressed that their beloved Prince is capable of making his own meals. I think, the fact that the Prince _can_ cook is something they’d be proud of, you know.”

The King let out a laugh, a full-bellied, hearty laugh as he walked over to Yeonjun with arms wide open. The Mage set the utensils down as he turned to embrace his father. The King’s embrace was warm as he pat Yeonjun’s back, “Glad you made it back safely, my boy.”

“I always do, father,” Yeonjun smiled as he broke away from the hug. His hunger was stronger than expected, “But I’m not sharing my ramen with you. I’m too hungry to share, even if you are the King.”

“Of course. At lunch tomorrow, we can discuss the matters regarding your latest endeavor, my son. Right now, Su-Jin is preparing for your return banquet,” the King teased, “She knows how much you enjoy waking up early.”

Yeonjun let out a groan as he rolled his eyes. If he wasn’t in the middle of eating ramen, he would have more protests to say. At this moment, food was the better option.

A fluffy woman came running in, frantic and panic sprayed across her expression as she made her way to the King. Her voice was high pitched, rushed as she marched to the King, “My Lord, the staff has said that Prince Daniel has already returned ahead of schedule. Some of our maids have claimed to have spotted him in the castle already! And his hair! If we thought the blue from earlier was ridiculous, it’s apparently an outrageous shade of pink now!”

Yeonjun laughed quietly – Su-Jin always got over-excited over such trivial matters.

Without a second’s passage, Yeonjun could hear the quick footsteps of old-man Edmonds. Su-Jin and Edmonds always came in pair – Yeonjun couldn’t remember a time when they were ever a part for more than a few minutes. At this point, he always considered them more family than royal caretakers at this point. At the second time Yeonjun chuckled, it dawned on both of them at he was actually present.

“I think the pink looks good on me, Su-Jin,” Yeonjun smiled.

“As do I, Su-Jin,” Edmonds said with a familiar smile. He walked over and put an arm around Yeonjun, “Our Prince can carry blue, yellow and now even pink hair! He can do it all! It’s no wonder everyone agrees that he’s the most handsome Prince we’ve ever had on the throne.”

Yeonjun let out light laughter as he listened to the three of them bicker about which hairstyle suited him the most _(“He needs to have appropriate hair for when the Summoner’s Ball happens. With all due respect, I will absolutely shave his hair myself if he comes in there looking florescent, your Majesty.” Su-Jin threatened with a polite smile that made Yeonjun inclined to believe that she was telling the truth_ ).

There were many days when being _just_ Choi Yeonjun was his first choice, but then, there would be these small, happy moments when he didn’t mind being the Crowned Prince ~~Yeonjun~~ **_Daniel_** Choi.

* * *

There was a saying that you should never meet your idols, but as Beomgyu stood in the back of the Guildhall with Hueningkai, he decided that saying was wrong.

The people that Beomgyu had only read about in Sorcerer’s Weekly were all in front of him and each one of them was as dazzling as he expected them to be. The swell of nervousness jumped around inside of him, his heart beat so fast that he wasn’t sure if he was elated or gassy; there was too much excitement brewing within him as he stared at the Seven Virtues. He knew that he needed to pay attention to what was being said, but his excitement was at max capacity.

“Namjoon and I worked the Quest in Cattrico,” Yoongi said as he paced around the map at the center of the table. His voice and expression remained calm, but his words inspired a new fear in Beomgyu. “We fought with a Dark Guild, Arachne Dade – their intent was to acquire a location scroll.”

 _Location Scroll_ – Beomgyu’s eyebrows quirked at the words. Where had he heard that from before? _Dark Guilds and Location Scrolls_ …

This time, it was Kim Seokjin who chimed in. “Was that Dark Guild copying the one that Jungkook, Hobi and I ran into?” His laugh filled the tense air of the Guildhall, “The Merula Foxglove Guild was doing the same. They were also after a location scroll.”

“Us too!” Park Jimin chimed in as he jumped up from his seat, “Taehyung and I ran into The Morte Vespers’ Guild and no surprise, another location scroll was the target.”

Namjoon began to pace the floor. Seriousness appeared in the form of knitted brows and a scowl, he shook his head, “After attempting to translate some of these scrolls, it seems that they lead to some ancient weapons. Some of them are rumored to weaponized Magic that require copious amounts of Mana to utilize.”

 _That’s why they were draining Mana_ …Beomgyu frowned as he listened on.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but the Dark Guilds have found a way to steal Mana from Mages,” Yoongi said. The Dragon Slayer of Fire shook his head with a frown, “They tried to steal Namjoon’s but the machine broke before they were able to materialize anything. I don’t think it was ours is the right Mana for whatever these Dark Guilds are trying to do.”

“Surprisingly, Morte Vespers weren’t scared of me or Jimin,” Taehyung muttered as he took a seat. He took off his shoes and sat cross-legged on the bench as he pointed out, “They kept saying that at least it wasn’t ... umm,” he snapped his fingers as he tried to recall. He shook his head, “There’s a Mage they’re scared of because they can’t sense his Mana or his casting.”

“The one who took down Crimine!” Jimin finished Taehyung’s thought for him, “There’s actually a long list of Dark Guilds that were taken down by him. _Their_ location scrolls were taken away by him.”

“ **That** is suspicious,” Yoongi spoke again. “A Mage that’s stealing locations scrolls from Dark Guilds. What if he’s the one gathering them? Not just that but the members of the destroyed Dark Guilds have been joining **Macabre Grimoire**. What if that Mage works for them?”

 _… oh_. Beomgyu’s eyes flickered from each of the Virtues until they finally landed on his own hands. He knew who they were talking about but Yeonjun wasn’t a Dark Mage …Beomgyu refused to believe it. He seemed too genuine to be a dark Mage.

“We met him!” Hueningkai chimed in. Beomgyu’s eyes immediately shot up at the younger Mage before they narrowed into a glare. Kai waved his hand up, “We met him at Andalusia. He’s so cool.”

Beomgyu’s attention wasn’t the only who went to Kai. The entire Guild was now staring at the Beast Soul user. Beomgyu wanted to disappear; he wondered why he never bothered to learn a teleportation spell because one of those would have been exceptionally useful by now.

“He saved us from Shadow Octoten and took down their Guild Master,” Kai continued. There was brush of admiration painted in his eyes as he spoke – anyone could see the brewed excitement from the young Mage. “He’s so cool. He’s really strong. Oh! And he’s Beomgyu’s boyfriend.”

“Beomgyu’s boyfriend?”

If only Beomgyu could have learned an invisibility spell as well. That would have been so helpful.

Before all of the attention fell onto Beomgyu, Soobin came into save the day. He stood up and walked over, “His name is Yeonjun, I think. From what I saw, he’s a very, _very_ high-class Mage. His used the Lightning Dragon’s Roar, so I’m pretty sure he’s a Dragon Slayer, like the three of you but … his Mana’s strange. You can’t sense it and he casts spells so quickly. He could snap his fingers and let lightning would strike. I watched him fight. He’s incredibly strong and adaptable in battle. Shadow Octoten’s Guild Master was a high S-Class Mage but he lost to him.”

 _So, Yeonjun had never been just an ordinary Mage – hell, he was already a Dragon Slayer but he wasn’t **just** a Dragon Slayer_.

“Shadow Octoten was trying to drain Beomgyu’s Mana,” Taehyun debriefed the events of their previous quest, “I don’t know how they did it but they were trying to steal Beomgyu’s Mana.”

Beomgyu could feel his head spin. The Celestial Mage normally didn’t mind the attention but everything about this Dark Guild debriefing with the Virtues made his head hurt. He brought a hand up to his forehead as he tried to rub away the impending headache.

“Since everyone’s looking at me, I guess I should explain?” Beomgyu finally spoke. He closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them, “The Guild Master of Shadow Octoten had this machine that attached to my hands. In one hand, it forced Mana regeneration and then in the other hand, it would steal the Mana from my body.” Beomgyu stared at his hands in front of him – he swore he could almost feel the machine’s attachments still there. He shook his head, “Once the Mana left, they converted into this materialized form. Like a rock of just pure energy. I don’t remember everything else, I just know they took a lot and it hurt. Yeonjun broke the machine when he came to save me …”

 _And perhaps that wasn’t the right thing to say_. Beomgyu frowned as he heard the whispers start up. He never minded when people would talk about him, but right now, it felt like there was a hushed judgement being placed on him.

“I don’t want to sound …hm, how should I put it?” Namjoon began slowly as he tried to find the kinder words to say, “It’s just a little too coincidental.”

“Call it like it is: _suspicious_.” Yoongi said, “Your boyfriend who is rumored to be taking down Dark Guilds and stealing the location scrolls for weaponized Magic knows about the machine that drains Mana from Mages? And you say they took a lot of Mana and materialized it? It’s too convenient and suspicious.”

 _Maybe now is not the time to mention that Yeonjun could transfer his Mana as well_. Beomgyu knew he shouldn’t be keeping this many secrets from the Guild, especially since they were just trying to help.

“He probably would have stopped it faster if he wasn’t too busy trying to keep me, Soobin and Taehyun safe,” Kai’s attempt at defense sent some ease into Beomgyu. Kai moved forward from where he stood, “He didn’t just save Beomgyu, but us too! He even taught me how to control the Beast Soul!”

 _Thank the Heavens for Kai_. Beomgyu sighed.

“It’s still suspicious. No one comes in at the right time to save people like that. This isn’t some anime or some movie,” Yoongi muttered, “I wouldn’t trust him right away.”

 _But I already do_ , Beomgyu thought to himself.

* * *

“Stupid,” Beomgyu called himself that as he sat on the grass. He pulled his knees to his chest as he looked at the passing river at the back of the Guild. Gently, he rest his head on his knees, “Am I being stupid? Why do I feel so upset?”

The briefing with the Virtues ended with the majority of the Guild feeling suspicious about Yeonjun. Most of them were convinced by Yoongi’s words and wondered if Yeonjun was connected to the Dark Guild’s – worst off, some of the Guild members wondered if Yeonjun was actually a high-rank officer of Macabre Grimoire.

“He’s not,” Beomgyu muttered, “He’s not. I know he’s not.”

The sincerity whenever Yeonjun spoke to him couldn’t be faked. Beomgyu believed that. He buried his face into his hands and let out the most frustrated cry that he could.

“The debriefing was rough on you, wasn’t it?”

The Celestial Mage looked up at the voice of a very beautiful Park Jimin. Jimin gestured at the spot next to Beomgyu, asking for permission to take a seat. Only after Beomgyu nodded did he take a seat.

“Sorry, sometimes Yoongi’s bluntness comes off harsher than expected. He just wants to make sure that our Guild is protected,” Jimin explained as he gave Beomgyu an apologetic smile, “He forgets that just because someone is part of a Dark Guild – _allegedly­_ , sorry – that they aren’t bad people. I mean, I was originally part of a Dark Guild until Taehyung and Jungkook saved me from it. They brought me back to the light.”

“You were part of a Dark Guild?” Beomgyu looked over to Jimin – that was never written in any of the interviews on Sorcerer’s Weekly.

Jimin grinned, “Hard to believe this angelic face was in one, huh? It was so long ago but that’s what happens when you meet the right people, you know? They change you for the better.” He put a hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, “As for your boyfriend, what do you think?”

“I know he’s good,” Beomgyu said faster than he and Jimin expected. He cleared his throat, “I just know he doesn’t have those ill-intentions. It doesn’t make sense if he did. Why would he keep saving me?”

Jimin shrugged at him, “You could just ask him, can’t you?”

“I don’t know …he’s busy,” Beomgyu frowned. It was only the fifth day – Yeonjun said ten days until he would come to visit. “He said he needed to go to the Capital to talk to the King about something. So, I don’t think I should …but it only takes three days-ish to go there, right?”

“He has audience with the King?” Jimin asked as he tilted his head. He looked at Beomgyu with confusion.

“Yeah, he does Quests from the King,” Beomgyu revealed, “I don’t know much about what he does other than that. But I do know I need to talk to him …”

“What are you thinking? Is there a way you can contact him?”

Beomgyu nodded slowly, feeling slightly embarrassed, “I have a Vivre Card.”

“To his home?”

“No …to him, directly,” Beomgyu corrected. The quirk of Jimin’s eyebrow made Beomgyu if a direct Vivre Card was uncommon. “I think …I think I need to take a quick trip. Thank you for talking to me, Park Jimin. I think I figured out what I need to do.”

With that, Beomgyu scrambled to his feet – a new sense of direction embedded in him as he did. Jimin sat back, watching the boy run off toward his apartment.

“I think you’re wrong by the way,” Jimin called out to the figure eavesdropping, “I don’t think we should be suspicious of his boyfriend. If he had anything to hide, why would he have given Beomgyu that type of Vivre Card? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“And Beomgyu?”

“He’s going to get confirmation,” Jimin sang out happily, “And it’ll prove you wrong! I’ll scout him, just to make sure he doesn’t get nabbed along the way. Celestial Mages are a very hot commodity for Dark Guilds these days, you know.”

* * *

“I don’t think I’ll be able to continue this alone.”

Yeonjun made the announcement at the usual meeting spot – the center of the garden labyrinth had a table for two where the Prince and the King regularly met. They claimed it was so the pair could have their very intense chess match with full concentration, but this spot was easier to place charms across. Though Yeonjun wasn’t the best at Scripture Magic, he could manage to cast the simple Scripture spell; as they walked along the maze, Yeonjun’s fingers had traced along the hedges, releasing Mana in the form of a forgotten language. The spell was simple: those not in the center could only hear the muffled, trickle of a conversation – just enough to know there was a conversation, but not enough to hear any spoke words.

“With the number of Dark Guilds suddenly being recruited for the location scrolls, it’s an uphill battle for me to retrieve _all_ of them as discreetly as before,” Yeonjun added as he leaned back against the ironwood garden chair. His fingers reached for the Rook and moved it to take the King’s Knight. “Not just that, but it’s getting difficult to come up with excuses as to why I keep leaving the Castle every few days. Su-Jin is finding every reason to send an entire troupe of guards with me.”

The King nodded before he laughed at the Prince’s last words. He shook his head as he moved his Bishop to take Yeonjun’s Rook on the board. “They’re getting desperate if they’re starting recruit more Dark Guilds,” the King announced and caused Yeonjun’s frown. “Macabre Grimoire’s movement is increasing.”

At the mention of Macabre Grimoire, Yeonjun’s eyes left the game and shifted directly to his father. _Macabre Grimoire_ – the most infamous Dark Guild _and_ the ones who had been acquisitioned to steal Yeonjun’s biological mother so many years ago. While this Dark Guild has always been branded by their reputation, the father and son knew them more intimately than most people expected – the Dark Guild’s loyalty was with the Kingdom of Allantrez, the homeland of the Kind’s new wife, the current Throned Queen. And that’s what made this difficult – the stupidity of political marriages and false notion of “ _maintaining the peace_ ”.

The current Queen discovered the elder notes in their Castle’s library, learning that there were ancient artifacts hidden in the land of Chronos. Her cunningness had been the catalyst to spread the information of the weaponized Magic to her Kingdom and that was the start of this unfortunate predicament. It’s the brink of impending war and neither the King nor the Prince could address it properly.

The current Queen was far too cunning for her own good – Yeonjun always suspected that she caused the disappearance of his real mother, but the King claimed he was leaning on their current suspicion. The whole situation was frustrating to Yeonjun; it felt stupid to skirt around these obvious issues, to pretend that everything was fine but then sending him out to accomplish covert operations. It felt fruitless and a waste of time – time that Yeonjun wished he could have used to find his mother.

Yeonjun was in a difficult position.

“You married into a cunning family,” Yeonjun sighed. Political marriages never lead into anything good – the King’s current political marriage is creating the rise of a secret coup from their supposed In-Laws and neither of them could be obvious about their movements. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered as he moved his chess piece to take his father’s pieces. “I need help,” Yeonjun admitted, “I can’t do this alone anymore. Not if you want to continue having a living son.”

“What do you suggest then?”

There were plenty of suggestions but Yeonjun knew his father would turn down so many of them. The King liked to settle everything behind closed doors and Yeonjun always thought that was a bad habit. He sighed, “I want to recruit a Guild to help. I’ll ask them to keep it quiet, as long as we pay them their fees, they’ll do everything asked.” He nodded, “Someone I trust belongs to that Guld I want to recruit and I believe in him. So, I know we can trust that Guild. I’ll leave to ask ---,” Yeonjun looked up at the sound of shuffling feet. He nodded at his father, both understanding the new situation. He kicked at the ground to break the scripture charm etched into the dirt.

“And where are you leaving and what are you asking, my dearest Daniel?” The current Queen came to where they had sat. She politely took the seat next to her husband, “Oh, you two and your chess matches.” One cue, her handmaidens placed a tea cup on the table, filling it to the brim; they placed the tea sandwiches and the desserts on the open space. “But where are you leaving to already, my son? You’ve just arrived.”

“We were discussing the Summoner’s Ball,” the King chimed in as he pat the Queen’s hand reassuringly, “Our dearest Daniel has a date in mind. I believe he’s mentioned his name a few times before. Oh, what was it again?” The King snapped his fingers as he tried to remember, “B-Beom—”

Yeonjun sent a glare to his father. The King was a menace, if you ask the Prince.

“Beomgyu,” Yeonjun corrected, “His name is Beomgyu.”

“Oh, please do invite him. I would love to meet the man who capture our impossibly uninterested son,” the Queen teased as Yeonjun rolled his eyes. It wasn’t that Yeonjun wasn’t interest in anyone, he just wasn’t interested in the number of ladies, Duchesses and Princesses that his mother kept trying to set him up with; they weren’t exactly his taste. “If by any chance that he doesn’t agree, I’ve plenty of young women or gentlemen in various royal families who would love to attend with you. Lady Mildred’s daughter, for one, has been asking for a private dinner with you, Daniel. I thin—”

“ ** _My_** son is free to make his own choice on whom he wants to take to the Summoner’s Ball and whom he wants to build a romantic relationship with,” the King said with such seriousness, the Queen could only smile. The possibility of Yeonjun being arranged to marry had always been a topic of debate – the King flat out refused to tether his son the way he was; Yeonjun was free to do as he pleased.

“Actually …,” the timing of the entire situation made Yeonjun smirk. It was four days until the day that he promised Beomgyu. “I shall take my leave tomorrow,” Yeonjun’s smirk tugged into a gently smile, “I do hope he’ll agree.”

* * *

On the seventh day, Beomgyu had decided that waiting was not the right choice for him.

The biggest challenge were three people: Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin and Hueningkai. Beomgyu did his best not to bring anything up about his plan, but apparently, he was “ _acting too suspicious to be the Choi Beomgyu that they all knew and love_ ” according to Kai. Soobin’s suspicions came up since apparently Beomgyu had spoken much less than his normal word count limit for the day. Taehyun, of course, had always just been suspicious of Beomgyu’s behavior – that was the only one that wasn’t too annoying or difficult to handle.

Luckily, Beomgyu was a master at everything he wanted to do …no, he just left a few hours before the others woke up.

“I’m so sleepy,” Beomgyu mumbled as he stifled a yawn. He stretched his arms upward, yawning again, “So, so sleepy. Why do I keep doing this to myself?”

The Celestial Mage held the Vivre Card so gently in his hands. The color of his cheeks flushed as he looked at it – this will lead him to wherever Yeonjun was. The older Mage said to wait ten days, but that was too long for Beomgyu. He sighed as he tried to remember how to use one – he just had to put his Mana in it, right? The Mage pushed a fraction of his Mana into it, letting the Vivre Card jump to life.

“Oh, just like that?” Beomgyu said, no longer feeling the sleepiness from earlier. He just had to follow the card and he could ask him everything. Would he even answer? Would he even want to see Beomgyu? What if Yoongi was right? What he didn’t even like Beomgyu? What if he really was just using Beomgyu as a means to an end? Just like that, the sleepiness was slowly being clouded with these unnecessary thoughts. He could feel his frown come on as a new clouded thought popped up with each step.

“You know what,” Beomgyu decided, “A journey should never be done alone.”

His fingers reached for the newest key strung to his necklace. Just the smallest bit of Mana was needed and, in that instant, a beautiful green parrot appeared. It flittered around Beomgyu before it landed on his shoulder.

“Beomie! Beomie!” Toto cried out with excitement as it settled itself on Beomgyu’s shoulder. Though Beomgyu was certain that Toto was a Celestial Spirit that he’d never bring out into battle, the bird was becoming one of his most favorite companions. There didn’t need to be a conversation, but the presence of the bird was all that Beomgyu needed for the rest of this journey.

“Toto,” Beomgyu smiled, “I have so much to talk to you about. I need to clear my head, I do hope you don’t mind listening.”

And then his heart broke.

Of course, Beomgyu knew that this was a very big possibility. He knew this and he thought he could protect his heart from it, prepare himself for it …but that wasn’t the case. The Celestial Mage prepared himself for being used by for his Mana or something along those lines, but what he didn’t prepare himself for was the sight in front of him.

 _“Oh, YJ, I could kiss you right now. Come here!”_ But the worst part was that Yeonjun didn’t even pull away. Instead, he just pulled the woman into a hug – not just a hug, a really long hug that Beomgyu swore they were whispering about something. Yeonjun whispered something that made the woman giggle and look up at him. The most heartbreaking thing that Beomgyu could imagine was that smile that Yeonjun returned to the woman.

 ** _… oh_**.

Beomgyu felt stupid.

“… Yeon--,” Beomgyu’s voice could barely come out. It broke before he finished saying the older Mage’s name but that was enough to catch Yeonjun’s attention. Their eyes met for just a moment before Beomgyu turned around and headed away. The Celestial Mage felt so stupid. “Never mind, never mind,” he said in a near whisper. It wasn’t for Yeonjun, it was more for himself.

Beomgyu walked, marched …ran. He ran in a direction opposite of where he had seen Yeonjun. At one point he tried to convince himself that it wasn’t Yeonjun, but that brilliant shade of pink made it so difficult to pretend. There could have easily been any number of plausible explanations but the whole journey here had Beomgyu’s mind muddled in every reason to have his own heart break. He didn’t expect it to actually break.

If he could get as far away from here, everything would be better.

Maybe he could just disappear into nothingness after that too?

“Beomgyu,” the sound of his name being called echoed as he ran, but the Celestial Mage didn’t aim to halt. He let his feet carry him as fast as he could. Until, he felt a hand latch onto his and pulled him back. “Beomgyu,” the voice he didn’t want to hear at the moment repeat his name, “Beomgyu, what are you doing here?”

“Leaving,” Beomgyu replied as he untangled their fingers and withdrew his hand, “I don’t want to interrupt you and whoever you’re with. You seemed preoccupied. I can just leave.” He tried to keep his voice leveled, but his vision started to blur. _Don’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcry_.

“Who are you talking about?” Yeonjun reached for Beomgyu’s hand again – this time, he held it with more force that Beomgyu couldn’t pull it back. “What’s going on? I thought, I was supposed to be the one visiting you in a few days.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to visit me anymore. You don’t have to pretend you care anymore, Yeonjun. I can just go.” Beomgyu felt stupid and indignant – this situation made him feel stupid, but he’d be damned if Yeonjun felt better than he did. “I came to return your Vivre Card,” he said as he finally wriggled his hand from Yeonjun’s grip. He quickly replaced his hand with the Vivre Card, “Thank you. I no longer need it. I will be going back to my Guild.”

“… Beomgyu, what are you going on about? Are you upset about me hugging Robin?” Yeonjun asked, as he slowly rose an eyebrow. As the eyebrow lowered, that stupid easy smile came on and Beomgyu looked away from him. “Beomgyu, Robin’s just a friend. Besides, she’s married to my god-father,” he explained, “I would never go after her. Besides, she’s not exactly my ideal type for a boyfriend.”

“Oh …,” Beomgyu’s eyes shifted to the ground, unable to lift themselves to meet Yeonjun’s. “I—I came here because I wanted confirmation. The Guild was being so suspicious since the Virtues came back and they were talking about the Dark Guilds and the locations scrolls! And then! And then they were saying it’s suspicious that you keep showing up where there were Dark Guilds and that it was weird that you’d be interested in me,” Beomgyu could feel the word vomit spewing but he couldn’t stop. If he stopped, he was sure he’d cry. “They were saying that you were probably only interested in me because of the location scrolls and the Celestial Mage’s Mana. That you were only doing things to get me and my Mana and that that that ---,” Beomgyu started to trip over his own words.

In the middle of Beomgyu’s rant, Yeonjun put his hands on Beomgyu’s shoulders. “Stop,” he said. “Look at me, Beomgyu,” Yeonjun instructed and Beomgyu followed, “Breathe. Please, breathe. Take some deep breaths.”

The Celestial Mage breathed, letting himself regain composure and peace.

“Okay, first of all, Robin’s technically my god-mother. She always jokes about how I never let her kiss my cheeks anymore. Even if she wasn’t my god-mother, I’m gay, Beomgyu. I’m not interested in women,” Yeonjun reassured the younger Mage. Beomgyu stared as Yeonjun’s hands held his, but he looked up as Yeonjun continued, “Secondly, I know, I _know_. What I do seems suspicious, but I promise you that I’m not working for Dark Guilds. Rather, I’m working against them. I’m retrieving the location scrolls that they took. I would never work for a Dark Guild.”

Beomgyu nodded slowly as he attempted to digest Yeonjun’s words.

“And do you really think I’m not interested in you? That I’d only be interested in you for your Mana?” Yeonjun scoffed, offended at that accusation. “Beomgyu, I don’t how to make it anymore obvious that I _like_ you. I already told you before, I _like_ you. I’m literally someone that can’t afford people to find him and I _willingly_ gave you a direct Vivre Card to me. I _like_ you, Beomgyu.”

 _Do hearts beat this loud_? Beomgyu swore he could hear his heart attempting break out of his chest and give itself to Yeonjun. He couldn’t figure out where to look and what to say. Beomgyu took his hands away from Yeonjun and covered his face as he finally admitted, “I like you too. Now, don’t look at me. I need to cry in peace.”

“Why are you crying?”

“I said, look away, Yeonjun.”

“Beomgyu.”

“Look away, I need to cry for a moment, and if I look at your stupid, pretty face again, I’m going to cry even more,” Beomgyu kept one hand covering his face and tried to use the other hand to shove Yeonjun away. “Can you like walk around the town and then come back so I can look pretty when you get back?”

Yeonjun snickered as he rolled his eyes, “Or …”

“Or … you could go to sleep right here. Take a nap and let me cry by myself for a bit.” Beomgyu waved his finger in the air, not sure if he was pointing it at Yeonjun, “You really should just go away for a little bit. I need to cry and you’re making this really difficult right now.”

“Or …,” Yeonjun repeated. Beomgyu wasn’t sure what his game was and as curious as he was to the sudden shuffling of feet, he wasn’t ready to show his face – his eyes were probably super red and he knew that his cheeks were so fluffed with blush. Only when Beomgyu felt familiar arms slide around his waist pull him close did he understand what Yeonjun meant. “I could stay here,” Yeonjun said as he pulled Beomgyu close to him, letting the younger Mage settle against, “I could stay here and I won’t even tell anyone you cried.”

“… _oh_ ,” Beomgyu muttered as he buried his face into Yeonjun’s neck, “This works.”

This was nice.

“And then when you’re done crying,” Yeonjun said, “I can take you out on a date. I mean, I guess, we have a lot on our plates with the Dark Guilds and stuff …but for one night, we can skip that responsibility. Plus, I really want to take you out on an official date where we don’t have to hide from people, where we’re not being chased or attacked.”

“That’s been our signature lately, hasn’t it?”

“Plus, I think kissing you under the stars is pretty romantic.”

Beomgyu moved and turned his head to look up at Yeonjun, “You should have told me you were the cheesy romantic type earlier. I would have had time to reconsider all of this.” He let out a laugh.

Yeah, this was nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii!
> 
> Thank you guys for reading this latest chapter of DYBIM. It took me a little bit longer to write it out as I couldn't figure out how I wanted the flow of things to work. I wrote, rewrote and removed scenes; I shuffled things around and moved things from this chapter to the next - there's basically no fight scenes in this chapter! It's a lot less adrenaline pushed than the previous ones, but there's a lot of information dropped. Mhmm, mhmm. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for your patience with me and the story. 
> 
> As always, thank ya! Love ya! Appreciate ya!
> 
> See you in the next chapter, friends.


	9. Into the Fervor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There’s a Gold Zodiac Key in this area.”
> 
> Beomgyu froze in his spot as he stared at Yeonjun – _Gold Zodiac Key_.

“You know, this must be some kind of record for us.”

Beomgyu sharpened his glare as Yeonjun spoke. At first, the Celestial Mage didn’t respond to the obvious sarcasm – not because he didn’t have a response, Beomgyu always had a response but because he was too busy trying to catch his breath. How Yeonjun wasn’t out of breath puzzled him. They ran along the same path and yet, Beomgyu was the one that leaned against trunk of the tree with ragged breathing. His glare remained the same.

“I mean, we got through walking the city, part of the games at the night market and partially through dinner before all of this. I even won you that teddy bear,” Yeonjun counted their activities on his fingers with amusement. A soft, chuckle came from him as he smiled at Beomgyu, “I’m impressed we got that far.”

“You really expected me _not_ to say something?” Beomgyu finally asked with a frown. He gestured at Yeonjun with his hands to emphasize his point, “We were on a date and he just wouldn’t stop trying to hit on you. Like, do you really expect me not to say something?”

“You could have ignored it,” Yeonjun pointed out. He rolled his eyes, “Not like I was even interested to begin with. I was so focused on you that I didn’t even realize.”

Beomgyu shrugged at him as he moved away from the tree trunk. He reached behind him to wipe off the small pieces of bark that attached to his jacket before he shrugged, “What’s done is done. The past is the past and now we’re here.”

“Were you jealous?”

“I _said_ , what’s done is done, the past is the past and now we’re here,” Beomgyu repeated before he walked past Yeonjun. He started down a randomly chosen path, “We should probably move. They’ll catch us if we stay here.”

“I want us to break this being chased thing,” Yeonjun muttered as he trailed behind Beomgyu. A soft sigh came from him as he looked at Beomgyu. He stopped and thumbed over his shoulder, “Do you want me to just handle them? Then we could get back to our date without us sneaking through the forest again? It won’t take long.”

Beomgyu turned to face Yeonjun. He put his hands on his hips as his brows furrowed, “You’re right. We _are_ Mages. Why did we even run?”

Yeonjun let out a laugh and Beomgyu decided that was his favorite sound.

* * *

“AH!!” Beomgyu’s unexpected scream caught Yeonjun by surprise. The Celestial Mage’s mouth dropped open as he pointed at Yeonjun with accusation.

“Why are you screaming?” Yeonjun’s question was laced with concern while his eyes scanned the younger Mage for an answer. “What happened this time?”

“I just realized that this is the first time I’ve ever seen you in casual clothes,” Beomgyu admitted, “You’re always wearing all black and leather. This is also the first time I’ve ever seen you with your hair _not_ pushed back.” He smiled as he reached over to run his fingers through Yeonjun’s hair, “I like it. It’s cute.”

Then, Yeonjun let out the softest, cutest laugh that Beomgyu had ever heard.

The Celestial Mage blinked at the pink-hair Mage. Beomgyu watched as Yeonjun covered his face with his right hand and hugged his stomach with his left hand; Beomgyu stared in awe as Yeonjun tried to stifle his own laughter – this was the most marvelous sight that he had ever seen.

“You’re so funny,” Yeonjun finally caught his breath from his laughter. He took in a few deep breaths before he said, “Why are you flirting with me when we’re about to get into a fight with the guys you just pissed off?”

“What? I—you –thi—you always flirt with me in the middle of danger!” Beomgyu sputtered out. He blinked wildly before he stared at Yeonjun, “Why is it funny when I do it? But when you do it, it’s fine? When we’re being chased by a Dark Guild Master – the _creepiest_ Dark Guild Master, mind you – you were so flirty and handsy and kissy. But I’m over here being cute, when we’re in like 10% danger and it’s funny?” He put his hands on his hips and stared at Yeonjun, “You’re not fair.”

“I’m not fair? You’re the one who’s so cute that I’m being thrown off,” Yeonjun announced as he stared back at Beomgyu, “I’m usually much more composed than this, Beomgyu.”

Amid their banter, the man that Beomgyu pissed off during dinner had finally arrived. As expected, he wasn’t alone – he must have called as many of his nearby friends as possible. The man started yelling about something, most of his voice was aimed at Beomgyu.

“One second, Yeonjun,” Beomgyu said with the sweetest smile that he could muster. He took a deep breath and turned toward the annoyance. He clapped his hands together and said, “I know you’re obsessed with us, but I’m in the middle of flirt-arguing with my boyfriend right now. You need to wait. You’re not important right now.”

Yeonjun didn’t bother holding back his laughter this time.

Regardless of whatever was about to unfold, Beomgyu decided that he’d already won. Yeonjun’s laugh was more than enough of a reward tonight.

“Listen, you little shit,” the unknown, unimportant man said as he grabbed Beomgyu’s shoulder, “You can’t talk to me the way you do and expe—”

“Uh-huh,” Yeonjun gripped the man’s hand and tossed away. As much as Beomgyu enjoyed the laughter that came from Yeonjun, it was this Yeonjun that made his heart beat so fast that he swore it would come out of his chest. Beomgyu swallowed nervously as he watched the shift in Yeonjun’s eyes – yeah, it was this Yeonjun that made that made his heart skip a beat or two. The pink-haired Mage shook his head as he stepped between Beomgyu and the man, “You don’t touch him. Not while I’m here.”

“Okay, both you little shits are getting your asses kicked,” the man nodded at his lackeys, giving the okay to attack.

Beomgyu shared a single look with Yeonjun before the two of them nodded. There was something so intimate about being able to share a glance with someone and know that the two of them were going to beat the shit out of these extras.

“You know,” Yeonjun said as he took Beomgyu’s hand into his. Once he finished lacing their fingers together, he lifted their hands up and placed a kiss on the back of Beomgyu’s hand. Then let their hands swing between them as they walked past that annoying group now on the floor. “One of these days, I promise I’ll take you out on a _normal_ date. One that doesn’t involve us fighting.”

Beomgyu hummed before he shrugged, “I don’t know, Yeonjun. I don’t think ‘normal’ suits us. I kind of like this. It’s very _us_ , you know.”

“Us, huh?”

“Yeah, us. I like us.”

The idea of adventure had always been something that Beomgyu wanted but this was different one, an unplanned adventure. So far, Beomgyu had come to realize that his current adventure had never gone smoothly and right now, he was praying to the Universe that this part of the adventure stays like this. For now, he decided he’d savor it.

“Hey!” Beomgyu shouted as he pulled his hand away from Yeonjun’s. He stepped back from the older Mage as he gasped and looked up. He waited for Yeonjun’s gaze to lift to the sky before Beomgyu took the bolder step. As Yeonjun looked up, Beomgyu stepped forward and leaned to steal a kiss. Yeonjun’s shock settled quickly as they both got comfortable into what was becoming Beomgyu’s favorite experience. He smiled when their kiss ended, “You were taking too long to kiss me under the stars, Yeonjun.”

* * *

It might have been about two hours into travelling when Beomgyu stopped and realized: “Where are we even going right now?”

Yeonjun stopped in his spot to turn and face Beomgyu. He rose an eyebrow up and asked, “Were you so distracted by my good looks that you forgot?” And just like that, Beomgyu wanted to smack that annoying attractive smirk off his face. “Like I said last night,” Yeonjun continued, “I’ll take you back to your place. I was originally going there, so I think I deserve to see it.” He paused for a second and then added, “You actually ruined my surprise, you know?”

“I’m the surprise, what are you talking about?”

“You are, but I was supposed to get you a present.” Yeonjun said so casually as he started down the path again, “This town was an extra half-day’s worth of travel.”

“You can still get it for me, you know? I’m not going to say no presents,” Beomgyu insisted as he jogged to catch up, “We can get it together so I can make sure I like it.”

“There’s a Gold Zodiac Key in this area.”

Beomgyu froze in his spot as he stared at Yeonjun – _Gold Zodiac Key_.

There were 12 Zodiac keys and Beomgyu had four of them. The Celestial Mage always wondered if it was possible for him to collect all 12 keys – he wanted to bring all of them together, to bring all 12 of these friends together again. That would be a reunion that Beomgyu wanted to happen. It always felt like an uphill battle – the keys were separated, spread through the Kingdom with different Mages. Beomgyu always hoped that the Mages who had these keys treated the Spirits like family, but he knew that might not always be the case …

“Yeonjun,” Beomgyu ran up to him. He grabbed at his hand, holding it so gently as he smiled up at him with such sweetness that Yeonjun rose an eyebrow. Beomgyu pouted, just a little to add to his already abundant cuteness, “Boyfriend, darling, sweetheart ...”

There was a reluctance in Yeonjun’s sigh, but Beomgyu was becoming aware of his newfound power: Yeonjun could not say no to him.

“I—look, Beomgyu. I wanted to do this alone because …it coincides with something I’ve already been doing and I don’t want to put you in danger. It’s not something we can just walk over and take,” Yeonjun explained and then paused. A few seconds passed before he continued, his voice dropped into a hushed seriousness, “It’s in the hands of a Dark Mage.”

“All the more reason we need to get the Key.”

* * *

Beomgyu had gone on Quests with Soobin, Hueningkai and Taehyun. They had that big Quest together and then a few smaller, minor ones (all of which turned out okay but ended up getting a little on the messy side once their group found fun in messing with each other). However, this was the first time that Beomgyu ever entered a Quest with Yeonjun.

It all made sense to him why the King would choose Yeonjun to do these Quests.

Before they even entered the area, Yeonjun had scouted the Dark Guild Hall. “It’s Scarlet Chimera. They’re not a very attack heavy Guild, more defense heavy. So, it’s going to take me a minute to break down their defensive spells,” Yeonjun’s brows knitted in furrowed concentration as he tried to solve whatever mystery was in the back of his mind.

Beomgyu knew he should have been focusing on the information being given to him, but all he wanted to do was kiss Yeonjun’s concentrated face. He shook his head and tried to hone in on their new mission at hand.

Of all the spells that Beomgyu had bore witness to, Yeonjun’s lightning was one of the most impressive he’d ever witness. Lightning was always impossible to understand – it was quick, volatile and almost angry without fault but when it was in Yeonjun’s hands, it was graceful, strong and deliberate. The Dragon Slayer of Lightning was a vision to watch in battle and Beomgyu wanted to bask in his greatness.

Just as Yeonjun said, he took down their defensive spells.

With the amount of lightning that the struck the protective spells, Beomgyu knew would only take a few minutes before they were able to enter the Guild Hall of Scarlet Chimera. While Yeonjun’s attacks went on, Beomgyu performed the ritual to summon the Zodiac Spirit of Leo.

“My darling, Beomgyu, you must have missed me so much,” Leo squealed with excitement when he appeared. He wrapped his arms around Beomgyu to pull the Celestial Mage into a hug before he lifted him in the air, “I’m here now. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

“Put me down,” Beomgyu squirmed in the hug. He’d never minded it before but he kept looking over to see if Yeonjun happened to see this. “Put me down, Leo. I need your help.”

“Of course, I’m your servant of love, Beomgyu. I will do anything fo—”

“Stop that,” Beomgyu shook his head. At the pout from his Celestial Spirit, Beomgyu gave him a smile, “I’m happy you’re okay, Leo and I never got to thank you for helping with Shadow Octoten. The others told me. Thank you, I mean it.” This time, Beomgyu was the one who gave his Celestial Spirit a hug. “But I need your help this time.”

Even from behind his sunglasses, Beomgyu could tell the Spirit’s expression turned. The usual excitement in his eyes became branded with a darkness, “There’s a Zodiac Key here.”

“We’re taking it back.”

“No,” Leo said, “You’re _rescuing_ her.”

At that time, Beomgyu didn’t understand the words that Leo had said.

* * *

“Yeonjun!”

Beomgyu scrambled past the spells that were thrown at them as he ran toward the pink-haired Mage. Just as Yeonjun said, he would take down the defensive spells cast around the Dark Guild. When the coast was clear, the older Mage made quick work of the first round of Dark Mages but as the second round came through, Beomgyu and Leo came into play. Despite Leo’s one-sided rivalry with Yeonjun, the pair worked together quickly – Leo insisting that he would take care of more Mages than Yeonjun to show that he loved Beomgyu more, Yeonjun just rolled his eyes.

However, as the next set of Mages came out, Beomgyu noticed something very wrong.

“Yeonjun!” Beomgyu ran over to him and wrapped his arms around Yeonjun’s waist, pulling him back.

“Beom--,” Yeonjun cried out in shock as he swept his arm across the air, trying to make sure that the lightning didn’t come back to where he and Beomgyu stood. The lightning split the ground beside them before it fizzled out. Yeonjun turned to face the younger Mage, “Don’t do that, Beomgyu. Baby, I could have hurt you.”

“Don’t attack that Mage,” Beomgyu looked up at Yeonjun, tears in his eyes, “Please, don’t attack them. Don’t attack them.”

“Why are you crying?”

“… they’re using the Spirit as a shield, Yeonjun. Your lightning is hurting the Spirit.”

Across from the pair, a Dark Mage stood behind a petite, dusty rose haired woman with a sheepish expression as she wrapped her arms around herself. She seemed too scared to be here, but there was hurt in her eyes that spoke volumes – she stood with insecurity, nervousness, everything that said she should not be on the battlefield. Yeonjun could see where the sprays of lightning had hit the Spirit – he could see where the Mage hid behind her.

“Sorry,” Yeonjun muttered to Beomgyu, “I’ll clear the path. Save her.”

* * *

“Aries, you piece of shit, go fight them!” The Dark Mage shouted as he kicked the Spirit forward. Aries tripped over herself as she tried to stop herself from falling into the ground. When she hit the ground, she jumped up immediately, trying to cover herself up. “Go attack him!”

The Zodiac Spirit of Aries stood up in front of Beomgyu. With tears in her eyes, she apologized to him, “I’m sorry! I don’t mean to do this …” and she spread her arms in front of her as the wool on her clothing flowed out. The wool’s target was Beomgyu and initially Beomgyu assumed it was soft, but as it came closer, the wool clearly was not. Beomgyu tucked into a roll as he hit the ground, barely avoiding it – the ground where the attack hit, it split the ground.

“Oh my god,” Beomgyu muttered as he scrambled to his feet. He barely got to his feet when another attack aimed at him – when they get through this, Beomgyu decided he was going to make Yeonjun teach him some attack spells. Beomgyu closed his eyes to prepare for whatever attack was about to hit but nothing hit.

“I’m here, Beomie.”

Beomgyu looked up to see his Zodiac Spirit of Leo in front of him – the wool attack was blocked. The Celestial Mage let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. Beomgyu turned over and forced himself off the ground as he stood next to Leo. One glance at his Spirit and he knew something was very wrong.

“It’s been awhile, Aries,” Leo finally said.

Beomgyu watched as the Spirit of Aries finally let out a single smile before she said, “It’s good to see you again, Leo.”

“Leo, you’re friends?” Beomgyu asked, but just from the look between the two Spirits was enough of an answer. A fight was supposed take place, Beomgyu knew this but there was a longing behind the glasses that Leo wore – Beomgyu couldn’t let this happen. “I’ll call Yeonjun, Leo. You can go back,” he insisted, “I can’t have you fight her.”

“You’re my Mage, Beomie,” Leo said sternly, “Regardless of what I want, I need to protect you.”

“I’m not having you fight her.”

“I said, I will protect you.”

Beomgyu looked up at him and put his hands on his hips, “I don’t care what you said, I’m not having you hurt someone you care about, stupid. I’m not heartless.”

Aries’ eyes watched Beomgyu and Leo argue. She finally said, “You’ve such a good Mage, Leo.” Her expression changed into a frown as she nodded, “I’m sorry I have to do this.” Her attack came forward, ready to hit Beomgyu. The attack never connected – Leo took the brunt of the attack.

“See, protect you. Me. That’s my job,” Leo winced, the sear of the attack left an obvious mark on his back. “I’m protecting my Mage.”

“Don’t do this, stupid,” Beomgyu snapped at Leo, “Stop hurting yourself for me!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Aries repeated, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I ju—”

The sentence didn’t finish with words – it came out as a surprised cry as her eyes widen. Beomgyu moved faster than Leo could register what happened: Aries’ Mage sent a casted spell through her. Beomgyu side stepped around his Celestial Spirit and hugged him from the attack.

The attack wasn’t fatal, just enough to have Beomgyu topple over his Celestial Spirit. It was like a punch, a very strong explosion that knocked him over. Beomgyu could feel the bruise that the attack had caused; he was going to hate this tomorrow.

“And I’m protecting you, stupid,” Beomgyu muttered, “Not as your Mage, but as your friend.” He pushed himself off Leo, checking to make sure that the Spirit was okay. His loyal Spirit was okay, but Aries was not.

“You’ve found a loving Mage, Leo,” Aries’s voice squeaked through. Her physical form was disappearing – the attack went through her in order to hit Beomgyu and Leo. Tears stained her cheeks as she smiled, “I’m so happy for you, Leo. I’m so happy for yo—”

“You stupid, Spirit,” her Mage came and kicked at her, “You made me miss them. You’re so useless. I’m going to keep you in the Human world for a week as punishment.”

Beomgyu’s eyes narrowed – Celestial Spirits being forced to stay in the Human realm for extended periods of time was a death sentence to them. They needed to return to their Celestial Realm to recover, to restore their energy and recuperate. A week in the Human world as punishment could break any Spirit. Beomgyu frowned.

If he wasn’t so angry, the Celestial Mage knew he would have cried. As sore as he was, Beomgyu marched forward, straight to the Mage where he shoved him. Beomgyu was never the type to get into a physical fight – his abilities weren’t meant for that and although his brother taught him simple fighting stances, he never wanted to use them. He was so angry.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” Beomgyu shoved him. He shoved the other Mage again, pushing him further away, “Don’t you dare fucking touch her again. How dare you?”

Beomgyu’s mother was a Celestial Mage and she taught him that the Spirits weren’t just tools for battle. Each Spirit had a livelihood that needed to be protected; each Spirit was a living being that deserved the same amount of love and care that Beomgyu had received. This Mage? The things that this Mage was doing? Beomgyu could kill him for it.

“How dare you?” Beomgyu shouted. He could feel his anger boiling, bubbling up. This Mage had no care for his Spirits. These were a mere few minutes with this asshole. What has this Mage done to this Spirit? Beomgyu clenched his fists so tightly, he could feel his nails threaten to puncture his skin. “How dare you call yourself a Celestial Mage? You don’t deserve to be one,” Beomgyu was shouting now and he didn’t care, “You don’t deserve your Zodiac Spirit.”

The shouting caught the attention of other Mages.

“What are you going to about it? She’s my Celestial Spi--,” Beomgyu finished the Dark Mage’s sentence with his fist. It took both of them by surprise, but Beomgyu was so angry, he couldn’t figure out what to do. He threw another punch and another one and another – not all of the punches connected, but it felt like his anger could be released like this. He closed his eyes during his ballistic barrage, punching at the Mage as he cried.

Beomgyu didn’t stop until he felt someone pull him off the Dark Mage.

Like a light in the darkness, Beomgyu heard Yeonjun’s voice. “Baby, he’s out. He’s done, he’s done,” Yeonjun hushed the cries from Beomgyu into a hug. He rubbed small circles against Beomgyu’s back as the younger Mage buried his face into him, “You’re okay, Beomgyu. You’re okay.”

* * *

“You good?”

Beomgyu nodded slowly. He took a final deep breath and nodded again. He decided he would never understand how Yeonjun could easily go into these types of Guilds and not feel so overwhelmed with emotions. But that’s why Beomgyu wasn’t the one hired by the King. He took another deep breath, “Are you sure everythi—”

“Yeah, I took care of all of them,” Yeonjun said so casually as he put a hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder, “I am sorry that I didn’t get to you earlier …”

Beomgyu shook his head, “You had your Quest to do. I’m okay now. I’m calm now.” His eyes were still shot red and as he put his hands on his face, he could feel the warmth still here. He’d never been that angry before. He took another breath.

“Here,” Yeonjun said as he gently placed the Gold Zodiac Key in Beomgyu’s hand.

The Gold Zodiac Key of Aries – Beomgyu stared at its dainty form in his hand. He pressed his lips together as he thought of the pain she had been forced through. A small sniffle came from him before he nodded. “O Key of Aries, please open the door, please let her through,” he started. His voice trembled for a moment, “Please unlock.”

Every time Beomgyu summoned a Celestial Spirit, the Spirits came out proud, strong. However, when Aries came out, she seemed so scared – her fingers curled up into unsure fists as she hugged herself. Her gaze couldn’t meet Beomgyu’s.

“Hi,” Beomgyu started as he walked toward her gently. He took her hands into his and said, “Hi, I’m Beomgyu and I know you haven’t had a good experience with Celestial Mages and I’m so sorry. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to undo what that Mage has done, but I want to ask if you would give me a chance to be your Celestial Mage. I promise that I will take care of you and protect you. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“Is …is it okay? Even if I’m …stupid and use—”

Beomgyu shook his head, “You’re perfect.”

She nodded her head slowly as she took her hands to cover her face. The petite Spirit cried into her hands, small squeaks of happiness and shock mixed with relief and surprise. Beomgyu hugged her so tightly, “Welcome to the family, Aries. You’re going to be so loved and I’m going to make sure of it.”

Yeonjun stood back as Beomgyu consoled the Spirit with promises and an attempt to make her smile. As a smile came on him, Yeonjun decided that Beomgyu was his favorite person.

* * *

“I’m going to ask you questions and you have to answer them,” Beomgyu decided as their journey to his current home continued, “I realize I don’t know enough about you. You have to answer everything. Don’t lie.”

Yeonjun nodded, “Okay.”

As they walked along the path, Beomgyu asked as many questions as he could possibly think of. From how many siblings he had (“ _No siblings, I’m a very beloved only child_.”) to what his favorite food was (“ _Ramen. Always ramen_.”), Beomgyu rattled off as many questions as he could possibly come up with before he finally asked, “Why do you like me?” The question came out as a surprise even fore Beomgyu – he decided he needed to find a way to stop his mouth from saying things without permission. He cleared his throat and said, “You don’t have to answer that.”

“What if I want to?”

The color in Beomgyu’s cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink as he walked ahead of Yeonjun. He hummed to himself as he kept walking ahead. If he ignored Yeonjun, he wouldn’t have to hear this answer. Maybe if he pretended that he didn’t accidentally ask that question, Yeonjun would just gloss over it too …but that wasn’t the Yeonjun that he knew.

“Because,” Yeonjun started his answer and despite trying to ignore him, Beomgyu felt himself straining to hear. “You feel like home, Beomgyu.”

Beomgyu covered his face with hands and let out a silent scream into it before he turned to Yeonjun. He pointed at him accusingly and then poked at his chest, “Stop saying things like that. I can’t take it.”

“You asked.”

“I didn’t expect you to answer so quickly.”

Yeonjun shrugged as he walked past Beomgyu, “I’m sorry, you’re just stuck with me now. It’s what you get, O Great and Handsome, Beomgyu.”

“Shut up,” Beomgyu scolded as he ran to catch up to Yeonjun. He linked their arms together, “You’re stuck with me too, but I’m not calling you ‘O Great and Handsome’. You don’t need anyone feeding your ego even more. I mean, you’re literally dating the Great and Handsome Beomgyu. That’s compliment enough, you know.”

* * *

“That’s where you went.”

Taehyun’s voice caught Soobin’s attention and pulled it away from where he had been staring for the last thirty minutes. The riverbank by their Guild was always the best place to think. The blue-haired Mage look up at the younger one and gave him that normal, warm smile. He gestured for Taehyun to take a seat next to him, “Sorry, I just wanted to have some time alone to think. It was so loud at the Guild.

Taehyun scoffed, “Loud doesn’t even begin to describe it. I admire the Virtues very much but if they pull another prank one me again, I don’t know if I could take it.” He sat down next to Soobin – it might have been a little too close, but Taehyun didn’t mind and he hoped Soobin didn’t either. “Are you okay though? You seemed more stressed recently.”

Soobin put his head into his hands and sighed. There was a far-off feeling in his eyes, he couldn’t focus on what to say as he licked the bottom of his lips. “You know how the Dark Guilds are a thing …,” Soobin started off with a heavy heart, “Remember when I first joined, Master Si-hyuk never let me say where they rescued me from?”

“Yeah, but he also told us that it doesn’t matter where any of us came from because what we do the moment we become members of the Guild was important,” Taehyun defended. He looked at Soobin curiously, “But go on …”

“They rescued me from a Dark Guild,” that far-off look came into Soobin’s eyes as he looked at the river in front of them. He bit a frown into his lips, “Macabre Grimoire took me from my village, from my family. They took so many of us. They took us and lied and poisoned our abilities so that we could hu—so that they could take o—I was so young, Taehyun. I didn’t know what was happening.”

“That wasn’t your fault, you know,” Taehyun said as he peered over at Soobin. He reached for Soobin’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, “They tricked you and all of the people with you. That’s not your fault, it’s not. Whatever they made you do, that’s not your fault.”

“But I could have saved them,” Soobin sighed. His vision fell back to the lake as his thoughts were clouded with the images of what he should have done.

Taehyun shook his head as he gazed at the older Mage, “Look at me, Soobin. Please, look at me.” He waited until Soobin’s gaze met his, “You can’t think about what could have been. All that’s going to do is drive you crazy. You’re here. You’re with me …with the Guild. Don’t think about you could have done. We have to think about what we _can_ do, okay?”

Soobin nodded slowly.

“You won’t have to do it alone either,” Taehyun nudged Soobin gently with his elbow as he gave him a smile, “You got me here with you.”

Taehyun’s favorite smile came back on Soobin.

“Hey!!” The two of them looked over to where Hueningkai’s voice came from, “Guys, come on! We need to get to the Guild! We have a huge problem!! Like a major, major problem.”

Any time that the Guild was silent was a bad time – Soobin had learned that early on.

When Soobin and Taehyun entered the Guild Hall, the tension in the air was so thick that Soobin wondered if they walked into a different dimension. The usual Guild banter silenced into seriousness – no one was laughing, everyone was sat at different tables painted with concentration on their faces. Taehyun looked at Soobin and nodded for a spot next to Kai. The two of them cautiously sat next to Kai who nodded toward the center where all the Virtues were gathered.

“Macabre Grimoire just sent us a message,” Kai whispered, “Namjoon is trying to translate it.”

Soobin’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Kai, “What? What are you talking about?” There was a fear that seized his heart and only when he felt Taehyun’s hand grip his under the table did he relax, “When did they get this? Why?”

The questions didn’t get answered by Kai, rather it came from the Virtues.

“Are they kidding?” Namjoon finally said, “They’re asking us to join them in their mission to fight the Kingdom.” He scoffed into a laugh before he slammed the message on the table, “They want us to join their alliance to fight and take over the Kingdom.”

“You can’t!” Soobin shouted as he jumped up uncharacteristically. All eyes on him and he felt the heat of it across his face, “Master, we can’t jo—you know what they do.”

The Guild Master nodded from where he sat but gestured for Soobin to sit down. “What else did their message say, Namjoon? Please continue.”

Namjoon nodded, “They sent this message to as many Guilds as possible asking them to join them against their fight. They want to take over the Kingdom and make it become part of Allantrez Empire.” He frowned, “If we don’t join, they threaten to attack the Guild and destroy us.”

The last sentence broke the Guild into laughter.

“Is that what they said?” Seokjin asked as he reached for the message. He couldn’t read the language used in the message, but he could look, “They’re quite bold.”

Jungkook hopped over next to him and looked over his shoulder to read the message, “They really threatened us. They actually threatened us.” The cutest smile came on him as he said, “I don’t think they realize that they can’t take us all on.”

They underestimated Macabre Grimoire – Soobin frowned. They didn’t realize how dangerous that Guild was and the immoral actions that they would commit to get to their goals.

When the Master clapped his hands together, everyone’s conversations came to a halt.

“We need to have a conversation with the King,” he announced, “I don’t know if we’ll be able to audience with the King, but we need to warn him if Allantrez is aiming to take our Kingdom.”

“Master, Master,” Jimin chimed in as he shook his head, “I don’t know if we’ll be able to get audience with the King. Aren’t they preparing for the Summoner’s Ball?”

“We could crash the Ball,” Kai said absentmindedly but loud enough for the entire Guild to hear him. He earned a smack from both Soobin and Taehyun, “What? It’s just an idea …”

* * *

“Did you miss me?” Beomgyu sang happily as he jumped next to Soobin. He put an arm around the taller Mage and grinned at him, “I was gone for a whole three-ish? Maybe four days? Did you or did you not miss me?”

Hueningkai laughed loudly as he realized Beomgyu had returned to their Guild Hall. “Taehyun said you got eaten by a Sea Cow and I said that’s not possible since Sea Cows are herbivores, you know.”

“Sea Cows are herbivo—why did one try to eat me the last time Soobin and I ran into one?” Beomgyu’s brows furrowed as he glared at Soobin, “What did you do to the Sea Cow to make them want to eat me? What did I do to suffer that fate?”

“Oh, I did miss you, Beomgyu,” Soobin sighed with a gentle smile, “You always make everything so lively and loud. Mostly loud, but still. I’m glad you got back safe.” He paused and stared at him, “Where did you go anyway? Four days on your own is a long time.”

Beomgyu shrugged as he whirled around Soobin. He took the seat next to Kai and stated, “Yeonjun’s visiting me. I went to go meet him.”

“Yeonjun’s here?” Taehyun asked as he set his tray down on the table. There were two bento boxes – one for him and one for Kai – and one bowl of ice cream that he placed in front of Soobin. He looked at Beomgyu, “So, you skipped out on all of us for your boyfriend?”

“I didn’t skip out. Jimin knew where I was. He encouraged it,” Beomgyu pouted, “Besides, I wanted to confirm that Yeonjun wasn’t …you know, Dark Guild-esque.” His grin widened as he said, “He’s not, by the way. He’s not a member of them at all. Period. I’m confirming.”

“So, where is your boyfriend?” Soobin asked as he dipped his spoon into the ice cream, “Are you going to officially introduce him to the Virtues so that Yoongi doesn’t murder you?”

“He’s at my apartment asleep,” Beomgyu said as he grabbed a spoon and stole a bite into Soobin’s ice cream. He chose to ignore all of the looks that his three best friends were giving him and instead asked, “So, did I miss anything important?”

“Macabre Grimoire wants to declare war on the Kingdom,” Taehyun said flatly, “They said if we don’t join, they’re going to attack the Guild. That’s what you missed.”

“What?” Beomgyu dropped the spoon, “What? Wait. Are you kidding me?”

“No, unfortunately not,” Soobin’s lips twisted in frustration for a minute, “Good thing is that we’re not going to join them but Master wants to warn the King. We don’t know to get audience with the King though and Kai keeps suggesting that we crash the Summoner’s Ball.”

Beomgyu blinked and said, “You realize that Yeonjun works directly for the King, right? You realize that he’s literally one degree of separation from the King, right? Like, I bet you we could just ask him and he could get us into talk to the King, right?”

“Who can get us to talk to the King?” The table’s attention turned to the older Mage that walked near them. Beomgyu smiled up at Jimin before he answered, “Yeonjun can get us to talk to the Ki—”

The doors of the Guild Hall opened with such force that Beomgyu dropped the spoon again.

Once the door was opened, the shuffling of feet settled with a troupe of guards in front of them. Beomgyu peered at them curiously. The group of guards settled themselves into some formation until the one in charge stepped forward, holding a scroll in front of him.

“Attention BH GUILD,” the man read from the scroll, “Under direct orders from the Royal Family, we are here to enforce the new tax for all Magical Guilds. If the fees are not paid, the Guild will be pressed into disbandment under the orders of the Royal Family.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Taehyun whispered with brows furrowed, “I thought that the King had a law to protect Magical Guilds in place. What happened?”

The tax being placed was ridiculous. The moment the price was said, the entire Guild was to their feet arguing with the Royal Guards. Threats were thrown (jokes were also made but everyone tried to ignore it, they wanted to maintain an air of seriousness) but the guards maintained their stance.

“Pay now or face disbandment.”

“Have other Guilds been sent this? Have they also paid?” Seokjin asked as he pushed past the crowd. He looked back to the agitated members, pleading with them to calm themselves. Whenever it came to moments like this, Seokjin had always been the best negotiator. “This is an impossible fee for us to pay in one lumpsum, you have to know that?”

“These are orders from the Royal Family,” the guard repeated as he handed the scroll to Seokjin, “It is signed by the King’s own hand.”

It felt suspicious.

A message from Macabre Grimoire to join them and then this? It felt suspicious.

* * *

Yeonjun was supposed to be at the BH Guild earlier but he tried to figure out how he would ask the Guild to join him. He also spent thirty minutes trying to figure out how he would tell Beomgyu that he was the Prince of the Kingdom of Chronos – none of it sounded good and he wished he just told him sometime during the past few days. Instead, he had to figure out how to tell Beomgyu and the Guild at the same time.

“Ah, I’m such an idiot,” he muttered as he scratched the back of his head. Beomgyu hadn’t told him where the Guild was, but it was easy to find – the amount of Mana that could be sensed from that place could be felt from miles away. “Oh, well,” he frowned, “It’ll be fine. I’m Yeonjun, I can do this. I can do anything. It’s in my blood.”

The entire walk had the Mage coming up with every possible scenario, but it all boiled down to one thing he was worried about: What would Beomgyu’s reaction be? Would he be mad?

“Stupid, I’m stupid,” Yeonjun mumbled.

There was a curious scene in front of the BH Guild’s Hall. Yeonjun immediately recognized the flags that flew from the hands of the guards – _Why are they here_? Before he left, there weren’t mentions of guards being sent to Guilds – he knew his father wouldn’t have sent any guards out, especially to the BH Guild. Yeonjun had already confirmed that he was going …so why?

Something was wrong.

The Mage pushed past the guards and quietly moved to where he had spotted Beomgyu. Immediately, Beomgyu hopped next to Yeonjun and leaned into whisper, “The Royal Family has decided to extort money from Magical Guilds, or something. Basically, if we don’t pay we’re supposed to disband or something.” Yeonjun stared at Beomgyu, he blinked a few times but Beomgyu continued, “Apparently, this has never happened before. Taehyun said that the King had a law to protect Magical Guilds.”

Yeonjun knew the law – he was the one that insisted to keep the protection of the Magical Guilds. He was the one who made sure that there were laws in place to protect the Magical Communities. He was only 16 when he stepped into the Royal Council’s chambers and fought for these laws to be put into place. He knew them, he knew all the laws.

He blinked and then stared at Beomgyu, then the Guards and then Beomgyu once more, “What?”

“The Royal Family apparently has a thing against Guilds?” Beomgyu offered with a shrug, “I don’t know but Seokjin is trying to nego—Yeonjun!”

Yeonjun shook his head. He could not believe what he was hearing, couldn’t believe the audacity of the entire situation. He pushed past Beomgyu and headed over to the Seokjin was failing to negotiate a payment plan for the Guards. That wasn’t going to work, Yeonjun knew that. The Guards were trained to follow the orders given to them by Royal Blood without fault – most of them would rather be laid to rest instead of fail the orders given to them. A negotiation would never work, not from someone who wasn’t of Royalty.

“Under whose approval was this made? Who approved this order?” Yeonjun asked the Guard with such seriousness that the attention easily fell on him. The Mage was aware that the Guards and the Guild’s attention was on him, but as the Prince, he was accustomed to the looks being given. The Guild members started to whisper, questioning who this Mage was but Kai immediately whispered to them the identity of the Mage. When Beomgyu ran up next to him, it made even more sense – Beomgyu looked over at Yeonjun pleading with him to stop and return back, that they should leave this to Seokjin instead of getting involved.

“Babe, just hold on,” Yeonjun turned to Beomgyu and whispered, “Just wait.”

The Guards stared at Yeonjun, confused as to why he was still talking to them. So, Yeonjun repeated it again, “Under whose approval was this order made?”

“The King’s and the Prince’s.”

Yeonjun scoffed as he licked his teeth before he smirked, “I highly doubt that.” He reached for the scroll from Seokjin’s hands. He quickly searched the written text across the scroll, reading its false words until he saw the seal. He frowned – that wasn’t approved by the King, that was an approval seal only to be used by the Queen if the King wasn’t able to perform his duties. He frowned before he asked, “Can I see the rest of your documented scrolls? I’d like to make sure they’re all correct. I just want to make sure you get all of your payments.”

The puzzlement from both the Guards and the Guild members was expected. Beomgyu looked over to at Yeonjun, unsure of what his boyfriend was doing but Yeonjun seemed so focused that he didn’t want to question him. Once all of the scrolls were given to Yeonjun, the Mage smiled and with the clap of thunder and flash of lightning, all of the scrolls in his hand sizzled into ashes.

“That wasn’t approved by the King,” Yeonjun announced and said, “And it sure as hell was not approved by the Prince.”

“This is treason. You are committing a crime against the Royal Family,” the Guards aimed their weapons at Yeonjun. Beomgyu smacked his own forehead and let out a groan as before he hissed at Yeonjun, “What are you doing? Are you trying to harm the Guild? Yeonjun?”

“I’m committing treason?” Yeonjun let out a curt laugh, “You’re the ones aiming your weapons at me. That’s treason in itself.” He looked at Beomgyu and said, “I meant to tell you this earlier and I promise I’ll explain everything. Just let me take care of this so your Guild isn’t harmed.” Beomgyu tilted his head at Yeonjun, unsure of what the older Mage was talking about.

“Look Mage, you have no righ—”

“You know,” Yeonjun said as he pointed a finger at them, “I dye my hair pink and suddenly you don’t remember who I am?” Yeonjun asked the Guard as he stepped forward. “You must have missed it. Blue might have been the last time you saw me, but then again, you never have been the most perceptive when it comes to these small details.” Yeonjun walked forward as he reached for his collar, pulling it gently to the side before he lifted the silver chain of his necklace. Once he stood in front of the Guard, he slowly pulled the necklace out until the pendant was out. At the center of the pendant, the seal of Chronos’ Prince was embedded in it and the Guards knew immediately.

“Your Majesty,” the Guard gasped as he took to his knee. The rest of the Royal Guard followed, taking a knee to the ground, their eyes unable to lift to meet Yeonjun’s. Their embarrassment couldn’t be hidden, even as they looked away. “I apologize, My Prince. We were just following the orders given to us from your mother, the Queen.”

Yeonjun’s eyes narrowed at that mentioned – he never did trust his step-mother. He cleared his throat, “I’m overriding the taxation order.” He glanced over at their scribe, “Write down that the 42nd Crowned Prince of Chronos, Y. Daniel Choi is over-riding the false taxation order against the Magical Guilds be sure to get that to the Castle immediately.” He nodded and said, “I’m sure you’ve notation for all of the Guilds that you’ve taken funds from. Return them at once. And if you can’t remember how much you’ve taken from them, triple whatever they say you owe.”

“My Prince, you know that we ca—”

“That’s an order from your Crowned Prince,” Yeonjun ordered. He hated the way that sounded, the way that inspired fear in those who received it. He never liked this. This entire situation felt so …bad. “You have until 6pm tonight to get the funds back to the Guilds you’ve taken them from. I expect you to return here by then. We’ll head back once you’ve returned.”

The silence in the air remained even as the Guards left to follow their orders. Stunned wasn’t even the proper to describe the looks on everyone’s faces.

“My boyfriend is the Crowned Prince?” Beomgyu’s question broke the final silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends, 
> 
> Thanks for reading this chapter. I appreciate your time and energy. I also hope you enjoyed it because I honestly enjoyed writing it - the scenes with Beomjun in the beginning were so funny to write. The Main Arc is ready to start, so I ask for a little more patience for these upcoming chapters. They're going to get longer and more action based again, but I promise you a lot more exciting things are gonna happen!
> 
> Thank you again for joining me in this adventure.  
> As always, love ya! Appreciate ya and see ya next chapter!


	10. Into the Battle Royale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was one week until the Summoner’s Ball but the Guild was already busier than expected.

_The Crowned Prince_.

Yeonjun was in the middle of an explanation about the current situation: Macabre Grimoire, the Dark Guilds, the Queen and her possible involvement in the now very possible war situation. However, despite the seriousness of the debriefing was, Beomgyu had not moved from the fact that Yeonjun was the Crowned Prince of Chronos. He knew that he should have paid more attention to the situation, he knew this very well. But he rest his chin in his hands and admired Yeonjun, the Crowned Prince of Chronos _but_ more importantly, Beomgyu’s boyfriend.

“She really is working with them,” Yeonjun frowned. His hands frustratedly ran through his hair as he understood the reality of these actions. The pink-haired Mage paced the floor, brows knitted with the gravity of the truth and eyes flickered wildly in search for an intangible answer.

“I didn’t think evil step-mothers were real,” Hoseok broke into the conversation, an attempt to lighten up the tense mood. No one laughed, unfortunately. He cleared his throat and said, “Look, Prince Dani—”

“Yeonjun. Daniel is just for formality.”

“Look, _Yeonjun_ ,” Hoseok chimed in, “I don’t think it needs to be said since I’m sure the Guild agrees already, but we’re here to help you. Just let us know what we can do to help.”

“We need to get the location scrolls back from the Dark Guilds,” Yeonjun explained, “Each of those scrolls leads to an ancient artifact of weaponized Magic. We need to make sure that Macabre Grimoire doesn’t get them. If they get them first, they’ll arm the Allantrez Army with weaponized Magic.” He frowned before he let out a quiet ‘tsk’, “But I have a feeling something is going to happen at the Summoner’s Ball.” His expression turned even more sour. There was just too much happening, and he wasn’t sure how to balance everything, “I told father we needed Royal Mages in case something like this happened.”

“Your Highness,” their Guild Master finally spoke, “Let us help you. If we can determine where the location scrolls are, we can send some of our members there. Then, we can also send some others to the Summoner’s Ball with you in case something happens.” There was calmness in the way Master Si-hyuk spoke, a confident warmth to ease the frustrations away. “My good friend, Lee Hyun has returned from his trip and his Archive Magic can assist us greatly.”

“Thank you,” Yeonjun said. He let out a soft breath before he smiled, “Before all of this, I was actually headed here to formally hire the BH Guild for a Quest to prevent this from happening. I apologize that it’s become something to be pressured into. You all have my complete gratitude for your help.”

There were murmurs through the Guild – many of them claiming that he didn’t need to worry, that they knew their duty toward their Kingdom. Yeonjun bowed to them all, just thankful that he wouldn’t have to face this battle alone.

“It’s weird though,” Jimin chimed in from where he sat. He uncrossed his legs and crossed them again in the opposite direction before we continued, “How did we all miss the fact that our own Crowned Prince was a Mage? Let alone the Mage that was fighting off Dark Guilds on his own? What the hell have we been doing? We’re the BH Guild, we should have figured this out earlier.”

“Suspecting my boyfriend as a member of the Dark Guild,” Beomgyu muttered his answer a little too loud because Hoseok and Seokjin heard him. The pair let out the most obnoxious laughter and pointed at Yoongi, “He’s right. You’re the one who threw us into a red herring. _What if he’s a member of the Dark Guild stealing Mana and location scrolls_?”

Yoongi didn’t respond. Instead, he gave them the middle finger – the Fire Dragon Slayer let a flame grow in the center of it before he blew on it. His breath caused the fire to expand toward the pair. Luckily, Namjoon acted quickly and extinguished the fire with his element of water.

“Why are you fighting in front of the Prince?” Namjoon asked, “Save it for the Dark Guilds.”

* * *

“I have a question,” Beomgyu asked as he opened the door to his apartment. He stepped aside to let Yeonjun go in first before locking the door behind him. The meeting at Guildhall went quickly but ended with Yeonjun’s request to get his belongings from Beomgyu’s place – he had the information needed for the location scrolls tucked somewhere in his bag.

“Hm?” Yeonjun responded as he reached for where he’d carefully placed his bag, “What’s the question, Beomgyu?”

Beomgyu stood against the door frame of his room, watching as Yeonjun shuffled through his bag for scrolls of information. The Celestial Mage tilted his head to the side as he nervously licked his lips before he pushed out the question carefully, “Were you ever going to tell me that you were the Crowned Prince of Chronos?” He folded his arms over his chest as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. “I mean, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to …I was just curious. Since, you know …I’ve been very honest about everything.”

“Are you mad?”

The Celestial Mage shook his head as a small smile came up, “Shocked? Surprised? Feeling a little lied to, but I’m not mad. Was telling me ever something you were even going to do? Like if you didn’t have to stop those guards?”

“Yeah, I was actually going to confess to you about it during this visit,” Yeonjun set the scrolls down as he turned to give his full attention to Beomgyu. His lips tugged to the left for a second before he continued, “The whole time we were travelling here, I kept trying to figure out when would be the best time just drop that information to you. It’s kind of hard to just say, ‘Beomgyu, I know it’s out of the blue, but I’m the Prince’ in a regular conversation.”

“I don’t know, you could have done it. You’ve always been so bold with me. Our first meeting was literally you ordering a drink for me at a mercenary bar and now we’re here,” Beomgyu laughed before he shrugged. His voice softened as he quietly said, “I would have believed you. I believe anything you say.” And Beomgyu knew that was foolish, especially when it became clear that there was so much about Yeonjun that he had no idea about.

“I hate it though,” Yeonjun admitted, “The title of the 42nd Crowned Prince of Chronos – there are so many people who are in love with that title, they want to be associated with it so badly.” When the obvious sadness in Yeonjun’s voice mad its way to his eyes, Beomgyu unfolded his arms and reached for Yeonjun. “What good is a title when you can’t do anything to actually help people? I’ve done more as _just_ Yeonjun than as the Prince.”

Beomgyu put his hands on Yeonjun’s arms before he slid them down to take Yeonjun’s hands into his. “Well, I like Yeonjun. I’ll probably like Prince Daniel too, but I’m always going to like Yeonjun the most. Yeonjun’s confident and sometimes cocky – but I like it, so it’s fine – and he’s always so dependable when it comes to me. I trust him very much. Yeonjun’s also a very good kisser, you know?” He teased with a giggle, “Please tell me you don’t have any more secret identities. I don’t think I can handle any more of you.”

Yeonjun shook his head, “That’s it, promise.”

“Okay, good,” Beomgyu sighed with fake relief. “So, I have one more question,” He grinned as he rose his eyebrows at Yeonjun, “Am I supposed moan Yeonjun or Daniel when we fool around now?” The flustered noise that came out of Yeonjun and that bright shade of blush on his cheeks was enough to make Beomgyu laugh. Oh, Beomgyu was going to enjoy this new leverage.

“And you said I was the bold one.”

“Coming out as the Prince has made you timid, I need do the heavy lifting with the flirting and teasing now,” Beomgyu said nonchalantly. He smiled, “Just promise me, no more secrets like this?”

Yeonjun nodded, “So, then I guess I should tell you what I intended to do during my visit.”

“Basking in the glory of my handsomeness and shower me with compliments about how cute I am? If so, you’re doing an awful job at it. You haven’t given me one compliment today and I think I’ve been very cute today. Don’t forget that I’m being a very supportive and understanding boyfriend here,” Beomgyu stated matter-of-factly, “It’s like where is my appreciation, Yeonjun? You haven’t even kissed me today! Where are my kisses? Where is my appreciation? Where is it? Where is my appre—”

“I wanted to invite you as my date to the upcoming Summoner’s Ball,” Yeonjun’s sentence had Beomgyu frozen in place. Yeonjun smiled, “If you don’t mind, I would love to formally invite you the Summoner’s Ball as the Prince’s official date.”

“How did you know I look amazing in a suit? You just want to show off the Great and Handsome Beomgyu,” Beomgyu smirked as he playfully accused him.

“Yeah, actually, I do,” Yeonjun admitted.

“Oh,” Beomgyu could feel his smile grow before he nodded, “Okay. I will grant you, Prince Daniel, the honor of taking me to this Summoner’s Ball. You should feel so honored.”

“I am, I really am.”

* * *

It was one week until the Summoner’s Ball but the Guild was already busier than expected.

Yeonjun had to return to the Castle – during the strategy meeting with the Guild, he’d come to the realization that his father might have been in more danger than they realized (who know what else the Queen could have been capable of). Before he left with the Royal Guards, he gave them the locations for the remaining scrolls and then gave them their invitations to the Summoner’s Ball – the split of the Guildmembers was left to their choices, with Beomgyu being the only exception.

After exchanging a _very_ long goodbye – Beomgyu never thought he’d be the type of boyfriend to take this long to say good-bye, especially when they were going to see each other again in a week, but it felt right to keep finding a reason to keep Yeonjun there for just a little longer – the Prince and the Royal Guards were off to return to the Castle. One week never felt like a week when waiting was involved.

Beomgyu trudged back into the Guildhall and took the empty seat next to Soobin. He leaned his head on Soobin’s shoulder and pouted. Soobin laughed as he reached over to ruffle Beomgyu’s hair, “Stop pouting. You’re literally going to see him again in a week, Beomgyu.”

“Oh, I’m not pouting because of that,” Beomgyu explained, “I’m pouting because I can’t imagine Huening wearing a suit for the Ball. Also, can you guys even dance or are your limbs too long for it?” Then he grinned at Soobin with such cheekiness that Soobin worried what Beomgyu would say next and when Beomgyu started speaking, he knew he was right to worry. “ _So_ , Soobin, you know how dates are customary for these sorts of things,” Beomgyu turned his full attention to the taller Mage, “This is the prime opportunity to ask Ta—”

Soobin elbowed Beomgyu so hard the Celestial Mage almost fell off the bench they were sat on. Between the shocked expression in Beomgyu’s eyes and the strange yelp he let out, Soobin tried everything to hold back his laughter as he profusely apologized.

“Just for that, I am asking him for you,” Beomgyu threatened but Soobin’s long arms grabbed at him and pulled him back on the bench. The Celestial Mage cursed at Soobin as he tried to break out of his grip, “This is not helping your case. I’m literally going to ask Taehyun for you if you don’t st—”

“Ask me what?”

Beomgyu enjoyed the surprise in Soobin’s eyes as the blonde Mage took the seat across from them. It was so nice to see panicked blush that grew on the healer’s cheeks. Beomgyu snicked and looked up at Taehyun, “I was going to ask you if they said anything about that nearby location scroll? We have a week until the Summoner’s Ball. If it’s a smaller Dark Guild, I think we could take them on.”

“I highly doubt they would just let us go after a Dark Guild on our own,” Taehyun said before he pointed at Beomgyu, “Especially with you, Mr. Celestial Mage. You’re so calm for someone who has a giant target on his back.”

“You start dating a Prince and suddenly, you swear like you’re a different person,” Soobin teased.

“You know what, we moved on from that too quickly,” Beomgyu clasped his hands together and grinned, “My boyfriend is literally the Prince. We need to discus—”

Jimin walked next to their table, a grin on his face as he looked at the three of them. “You three get on really well, don’t you?” He started before he asked, “Would you three be able to take a location scroll on your own?” Jimin frowned, “I know the Guild Master’s the one suggesting this and I know the three of you are very capable Mages, but I just feel so …worried about sending you three without one of the Virtues.”

“We can do it,” Taehyun said with a nod, “We’ll ask Kai to join too. The four of us can handle it. I’ll be sure to take care of everyone.”

Jimin looked uneasy but nodded. Then pointed at Beomgyu, “You, be the _most_ careful.”

* * *

Though Beomgyu loved these three, every single time they did a Quest together …everything went off in a direction no one expected. He glared at the back of their heads as he lagged behind them. The last thing Beomgyu wanted was something bad happening to his favorite Guildmates.

Just in case things went awry, Beomgyu decided it would be best to summon his favorite little bird. Usually, summon spirits took a lot of Mana but Toto was a special case – Beomgyu swore that summoning Toto took almost no energy, but having the parrot on his shoulder made him feel so much better. “I need someone to be witness if anything goes wrong,” Beomgyu told Toto, “But also, if you see something wrong, let me know right away.” He reached up and pat the little bird’s head, “Love you, Toto.” The bird nuzzled against Beomgyu.

After summoning Toto, Beomgyu realized that the trio had left him behind. He jogged just a little to catch up to the trio. “So, what’s the plan and are we _actually_ going to stick to it? I really don’t want to be captured again, please,” Beomgyu leaned most of his weight on Soobin, who pushed him away. Beomgyu stuck his tongue out at him, “Mean.”

“The coordinates that we were given isn’t a Guild,” Taehyun showed the map to Beomgyu, “It’s just a place in the forest. Maybe no Guilds have gone for it yet.”

“Oh, good. I was all worried for nothing,” Beomgyu said as he snatched the map out of Taehyun’s hands. With his free hand, he grabbed Kai’s hand, “Come on, Kai. We’re going to go ahead. You slowpokes stay behind and make sure that nothing comes up to attack us from behind. If something attacks me, I’m literally going to ask my Prince boyfriend to throw you both in the dungeon.”

As much as Beomgyu wanted to hear the conversation between the two Mages, he decided to leave them. He hopped up and walked forward with Kai. “You okay?” Beomgyu asked the younger Mage, “You’ve been pretty quiet during this whole walk to our location scroll.”

“Yeah, it’s just a lot of things. I’ve just been really tired lately,” Kai said as he yawned, his arms stretched upward. After he yawned, he reached over to pat Toto’s head as he explained, “Master’s had me doing some extra training with Hoseok to fully gain control. Dragon Slayers are the worst teachers.”

“Really?”

“They hurt so much!” Kai exclaimed as he rolled his eyes. His hands and arms started to fling around as he told his story, “Every time that I started to even get a little out of control, he would trap me with those iron bars. Do you know how much those iron bars hurt? Have you ever been punched by iron?”

“No and I don’t want to,” Beomgyu frowned but then smiled, “At least, you’re in more control of the Beast Soul. Proud of you, Huening. Very, very proud of you.”

“Ah,” Kai opened his mouth but closed it into a bashful smile. He rubbed the back of his head and admitted, “You actually helped me a lot. Back in the first mission we did together. Thank you.”

“We’re friends, it’s what we do. You’d do the same for me if there was ever a chance,” Beomgyu smiled up at him as gently punched his shoulder, “Stop being all sappy. You’re going to make me sappy and we need to go get that scroll. Then when we get back, we’re going to find you a nice suit to wear.”

Kai let out a groan at the mention of a suit but that didn’t stop the expansion of Beomgyu’s grin. At the flat expression Kai had on, Beomgyu just laughed some more. There had been so much heaviness in the recent days that Beomgyu was just relieved that moments like this could happen again; there was always lightness when it came to spending time with the others.

Beomgyu paused for a moment as he turned to face where Taehyun and Soobin should have been. His eyes narrowed for a moment as he noticed they weren’t trailing behind them. Beomgyu was sure that neither Soobin or Taehyun would have jumped into the things that he would have done with Yeonjun, so …where were they? He looked over at Kai and then nodded his head toward where the pair should have been.

“Why can’t we ever have just a normal day?” Beomgyu muttered to himself as he turned around to walk back where they had left the pair of Mages.

‘ _Duck, Beomie! Get down!_ ’ Toto sprang off Beomgyu’s shoulder, fluttering above the Mage as it sent the warning, ‘ _Get down!!_ ’

* * *

“You’re kidding. You’ve got to be kidding.”

Fear seized Soobin – he stood frozen, nearly petrified by its grip. If breathing wasn’t an involuntary action, the Mage was certain he would have forgotten to do so. His slowly moved left and right – this was impossible, completely impossible. He stepped back slowly and only after he heard the crunch of the leaves and branches did Soobin realize that this wasn’t something in his head.

“No,” Soobin barely squeaked the word out. There were more things he wanted to say, but all he could say was, “No, no, no …”

“Soobin?” Taehyun’s eyes teemed with concern as he searched the taller Mage. “What’s wrong, Soobin? What’s going on? Hey, Soobin?” His confusion only grew more as he followed Soobin’s gaze toward the figures in front of them.

Two figures stood. A woman in red – red hair, red lips and the most sinister smile that ever grace a person. A shorter, blonde man – dressed in all stripes, bangs covering his face except for that playful smile. The woman nodded at the man before she cast a glance toward the direction where Beomgyu and Hueningkai had gone – in the span of a breath, the man was gone but the woman in red remained.

“I’m surprised,” her voice sounded smooth, red velvet with just the tiniest touch of devil’s cake. Her eyes scanned the pair of them. The way she smiled sent a chill down Taehyun’s spine – he took a step back to match where Soobin had gone. There was something sinister about the way that her lips curled up, “I didn’t think that I would ever run into you again, Choi Soobin.” Her tongue brushed against her ruby lips; a predator ready to devour her pray. “It’s been so many years, kid. I can’t believe all it took was for us to start searching for the scrolls to find you again.”

For all that Soobin wanted to answer, he could not. His throat felt dry and despite hearing Taehyun’s questions, Soobin found it difficult to get even a single word out.

“Hey,” Taehyun whispered as he reached for Soobin’s hand, “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.” He held Soobin’s hand, but his eyes stayed focused on the figures in front of them, “Who are they?”

“Does your friend know, Choi Soobin?” The woman asked as her sharp eyes glimmered with excitement. She seemed almost giddy over this, “Does your friend know how many people have suffered because of you? Does he know, Soobin? Does he know you’re a murderer? Ahh, oops,” she giggled with amusement, “I guess, I spilled that secret out for you. Oops.”

With Soobin unable to get out of his head, Taehyun knew he had to act. He stepped in front of Soobin, blocking him from these incoming figures. The one on the left dashed down the road, toward where Beomgyu and Kai had gone – Taehyun frowned, but he knew he needed to focus on what was in front of him. He reached into his pocket to pulled out a deck of cards, “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not welcomed here. You need to get out of here.”

“Oh?” The woman smirked, “You really haven’t told them, have you?” She clapped her hands together, “Listen, blondie. My name is Merda, one of Macabre Grimoire’s top officers and your little blue-haired friend was someone who escaped. I think it’s time for you to come home, Choi Soobin.”

“That’s not his home,” Taehyun answered, “Macabre Grimoire isn’t his home.”

“Oh, but it is, blondie. It is. Soobin isn’t the Light Mage you all think he is. He’s a Dark Mage through and through, sweetie,” Merda responded, “And I’m taking him and location scroll back to Macabre Grimoire.”

Taehyun grinned as he reached into his deck. A single card was held between his fingers – a casting circle emerged as Taehyun poured his Mana into the card. He smirked as he threw the card, “ **Thorns of Malice**.” The card sailed through the air until it landed in front of Merda. When the card hit the ground, the card opened and released the large, giant thorned vines – the vines swarmed around, slammed through the air and aimed for the Macabre Grimoire Mage.

“Come on,” Taehyun turned to Soobin, he grabbed his hand and dragged him away. “Soobin, come on with me, we need to go.”

Only when Soobin felt Taehyun’s hands on his face did he snap out of his daze. He blinked a few times, trying to pull his focus back in the blonde Mage in front of him. The blue-haired Mage hadn’t realized he had cried until he felt Taehyun’s thumbs brush away the tears.

“Soobin,” Taehyun’s voice was soft, “You’re okay. I’m here.”

“Taehyun, thank you, thank you,” Soobin’s eyes wavered as he realized the situation, “I’m so sorry. I di—I can’t believe that Macabre Grimoire is here. I can’t believe that they even remember me …,” His eyes widened, shock evident in his pupils, “Why is Macabre Grimoire here right now?”

“They’re going after the location scrolls. I think they’re getting impatient,” Taehyun said as he lowered his hands from Soobin’s face, “But that Mage, Merda, she wants to take you back …”

“I’m not going with them, I’m no—Taehyun,” Soobin turned to face him, “I’m not a murde—”

“I know,” Taehyun cut him off with a smile, “I already know. I trust you, Choi Soobin and I know you’re not the person that Macabre Grimoire claims you are.” He gave Soobin the warmest smile before he nodded, “I don’t believe them for a second but …is there anything you can remember about Merda?”

“That woman is the most evil person on this planet,” Soobin said with no hesitation, “She is the most awful person that has ever lived and I prayed that I would never see her ever again.”

* * *

“Leo, _release_!”

Kai stared, blinked at the revelation of Celestial Spirit of Leo. Every single time that Beomgyu summoned a Spirit was always so cool to him. Beomgyu was just so cool.

“My darling, Beomgyu, you’ve called me again,” the Spirit cried out with excitement, “That Yeonjun left you alone again, but I would never leave you. I’m always here, my Beomie.” He walked around Beomgyu, blowing kisses at his Mage while he did. As usual, Beomgyu’s expression fell flat before he threw a punch at Leo and hissed, “Stop messing around. I need your help.”

Leo turned to look at Kai. He lowered his glasses as his eyes moved up and down the Mage, “I’m only helping Beomie. I don’t care of help non-Beomgyu’s . Especially if they’re Yeonjun or Yeonjun-acquaintances.” Beomgyu rolled his eyes – the Celestial Mage never understood Leo’s one-sided rivalry with Yeonjun but he wasn’t in the mood to argue with the Spirit now.

Their conversation ended as Toto squawked for them all to get down before he flew above them. Leo pushed Kai and Beomgyu to the ground – a series of throwing knives flew across the air and into the tree trunk behind them. Had Leo not pushed them down, Beomgyu was sure that he and Kai would have unfortunate new scars. The knives missed, but Beomgyu winced as he brought his fingers to his cheek. “Blood? How?”

“ _Red, red, red blood ~ it flows like a river ~ red, red, red blood ~ it flows like a river ~_ ”

Leo stood in front of Beomgyu, ready to block whatever might come their way. Toto circled above them, trying to catch whatever could have thrown the knives. Leo’s eyes scanned the forest, eyed the trees and tried to listen for any noises. Beomgyu stood behind him, trying his best to help find where the next attack could come from. He reached for Kai’s hand, helping the younger Mage up from the ground.

“Are you okay?” Beomgyu whispered, “You didn’t ge--,” a frown came on the Celestial Mage. He reached for Kai’s cheek and brushed off the blood from his cheek. “Ah, we’re supposed to look good for the Summoner’s Ball and here we are getting cut up like this.”

“I thought it missed,” Kai said with surprise, “I thought it only hit the trees behind us.”

“ _Red, red, red blood ~ it flows like a river ~ red, red, red blood ~ it flows like a river ~ it flows ~_ ”

The voice was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. How were they supposed form defense if they couldn’t tell where it was coming? How could they even attack if they didn’t know where the attacks were coming from? Beomgyu’s brows furrowed – he needed to do better than this, he needed to figure this out before Leo and Kai could get hurt.

“Beomgyu,” Kai whispered, “I’m going to shift and distract whatever we’re fighting. You and Leo should go find Soobin and Taehyun.”

“Like hell are we leaving you when we don’t even know what we’re fighting against,” Beomgyu snapped at the younger Mage, “Don’t be stupid. We’ll work together and then go find those two. I’m sure they’ll be able to handle it. Taehyun’s got a million cards.”

“Cards won’t help against Merda,” a voice above called out to them. On the branch above them was a young man – purple hair covered his eyes as his smiled curled into something sinister. He leaned his face against his hand as he gleefully kicked his legs like a child; he hummed excitedly from where he sat before he asked, “Do you really have the time to be worried about your friends when you two are up against me – The Ripper?”

“ _The_ Ripper?” Beomgyu asked as he looked up and snickered, “The Ripper? Really? Of all the names you could have chosen for yourself, you cho—”

Leo’s arm wrapped around Beomgyu’s waist as he pulled the Celestial Mage aside. Throwing knives hit the spot where Beomgyu had previously stood. “Beomie, as much as I love you, I’m going to need you to stop pissing off the people who are _already_ trying to kill you,” Leo suggested.

* * *

There was a buzzing that hovered through the air.

Soobin’s eyes widened – he knew what it was, he grabbed Taehyun’s arm and pulled him close. “Taehyun, don’t leave my side,” he said, “Merda’s Magic creates these mosquito creatures …don’t let them bite you.” He could hear the buzzing, but he couldn’t see where these creatures were. Soobin felt the panic start to set in, “If they bite you –”

“They poison you,” Merda’s voice came through. She clapped her gloved hands together as she smiled, “So, you still remember, Soobin. I’m so proud of you. I know it’s impossible to forget since these creatures were create through you. They’re filled with your blood – your blood fuels their poison, Soobin. I’m excited for you to come home.”

Despite Soobin’s warning, Taehyun didn’t stay close – this woman was annoying to the blonde Mage. Everything about her and the familiar way she spoke to Soobin got under his skin. He reached for another card as he placed it between his fingers – “ **Harpie’s Sword** ,” he cried out as the card turned into a sharp black, feathered sword.

“I already told you,” Taehyun shouted as he moved past Soobin. He stepped past the older Mage and rushed at Merda. He drew the sword back and pushed it forward as he drew near. “Soobin isn’t going with you. He’s staying here.”

The moment the woman’s red lips curled into a smile, Taehyun knew he messed up. The blonde Mage was usually more calculated than this – every move was meticulously chosen, each card had a place in his deck and yet every time this woman spoke about taking Soobin away, Taehyun found himself acting irrationally. He should have heeded Soobin’s warning and stayed close, but it was too late to think about what could have been.

There was a strong buzzing around Taehyun. He gripped the hilt of the sword and tried to hit the buzzing creatures. The sword whipped around, slicing as many of the creatures as it could and then he felt the prick on the side of his neck. His free hand smacked it, killing the creature. “A mosquito?” Taehyun asked as he looked at the dead bug in his hand, “You’re using mosquitos to pri—”

Taehyun felt his entire body seize with pain. The sword dropped from his hand, hitting the ground at the same time as Taehyun. Why was it suddenly so hard to move? He tried to reach for the sword – if he could get up, he could still fight her and protect Soobin. Try as he might, Taehyun couldn’t move but he kept trying, pushing himself to move …but he could barely breathe now. Every breath felt like a struggle; each breath felt like glass being forced into his lungs.

“Taehyun!” Soobin finally cried out as he tried to get to the younger Mage. Merda stepped between them. “Move,” Soobin said, “Merda, you can move, or ** _I_** will move you.”

“You should still remember this, Soobin. He has about ten minutes before the poison spreads through his entire body. You remember, right? How many people have died like this because of you?” Merda’s smiled broadened as she looked at Soobin with such fondness, “Isn’t it amazing, Soobin? The poison we made with your blood still works the same way. Who knew your blood was so toxic that it could kill people?”

“I didn’t do that. _You_ made me do it,” Soobin’s usually soft eyes sharpened in a glare. “You and Macabre Grimoire made me do it but I’m not part of you anymore. I’m never going to be part of you again.”

“Are you sure you have time to be arguing with me when your little friend is dying?”

Soobin tried to rush past her, but she blocked him. She snapped her palm open and a casting circle formed in the center of it. The buzzing creatures came into its center and connected themselves to each other; each mosquito attached to the other until they formed a large trident. The moment it formed, she swung it over toward Soobin. Soobin jumped back, stepping away from her.

 _Nine minutes_.

“Can you heal him if you get poisoned too, Choi Soobin?”

This wasn’t new. Soobin could remember her doing this when Macabre Grimoire raided villages. He could remember the panic that ran through the towns as their protectors would fall to her mosquitos; he could remember the cries of pain as she stabbed at them with that weapon. But most of all, he could remember the faces of the people, their tears and their cries when they made him use his abilities to poison their health.

Soobin wasn’t that person anymore.

 _Eight minutes_.

Soobin ducked from the swing of her trident. He rolled forward, pushing himself away from where she tried to stab at him. From where he’d rolled to, the sword Taehyun had been using was within reach. His fingers brushed against the hilt of the sword as he tried to pull it close. He reached for the sword, pulling it as close to him as he finally wrapped his fingers around it. With the sword in hand, he swung it to block her attack.

“Oh,” Merda grinned, “You’re fighting back, Soobin? Do you honestly think you deserve a second chance when you’ve caused so much pain.”

 _Seven minutes_.

A second chance was all Soobin wanted – the guilt of the past weighed heavily in his heart. There were so many nights when he would wake up with the faces of the people harmed embedded in his mind. How many people suffered because of him? How many lives were lost because of what he had done? He never stopped asking those questions and he never stopped trying to atone for the sins of the past. Yet, the past was there to haunt him.

But the Guild gave him that second chance.

Soobin might not have been a fighter, but that didn’t matter when he had something so important to fight for. With the sword in hand, he rushed toward Merda – he swung the blade through the air, hitting the center of her trident. He kept swinging, kept trying to create an opening.

_Six minutes._

The trident got caught against the sword and Soobin pushed forward, closing the space between him and Merda. The words she whispered aimed to sully his mind, but unfortunately for her, Soobin was not the same child they had stolen. He pushed her back against the trunk of a tree.

“Impressive,” Merda’s smirk stayed on, “But you won’t do it. You’ve never been able to.”

“You don’t know me anymore, Merda,” Soobin spoke as he put reached his free hand onto her shoulder. His eyes never broke the connection with hers, “I have people to protect, people that I love. You can’t take me away from them.”

His hand gripped her shoulder as he opened a casting circle in the center of it. The Mana poured into a brilliantly green shade, spreading across the casting circle. “ **Pestilence Grip** ,” he said as the casting circle poured a mixture of poisoned sickness into the woman. Soobin’s expression turned dark as he heard her crying out for help, in the same way that her victims did in the past. Just as she did to the victims, her cries were also ignored.

He closed his eyes until her cries stopped and buzzing of her mosquitos turned to silence.

 _Five minutes_.

Soobin released his grip on the woman and let the sword fall.

“Taehyun,” he cried out as he ran over to where the younger Mage was. There was no time to waste as he put his hand where Taehyun had been bitten. A warm casting circled opened as his hand made contact with Taehyun’s skin – he poured his Mana into it and the healing process began. This poison was his blood and with his own blood, he could cure it. He bit his lip nervously as he tried to speed it up. “Please, please,” he pleaded with himself.

 _Four minutes_.

“Ah,” Taehyun let out a sharp breath as he sat up. His breathing was hard, ragged and he stared up at Soobin. As soon as he was awake, he felt Soobin’s hand move from where he’d been bitten. When his eyes met Soobin’s, Taehyun decided to do what both of them seemed to keep putting off: he reached for Soobin’s face, cupping his cheek gently before he guided the older Mage in for a kiss.

* * *

“ ** _Leo Gate, seal_**!”

Despite Leo’s usual protests, Beomgyu decided to recall his Celestial Spirit – the Spirit of the Lion kept jumping in front of Beomgyu and Kai to shield them from the throwing knives. Beomgyu couldn’t bare to see his dearest Spirit be hurt. It was a disadvantage to have Leo out of the battle, but the Celestial Mage knew there was a better choice than to have his Spirit bleed out.

“Why?” Kai breathed out heavily. He laid on the ground next to Beomgyu, “Why is that Rip guy so fast? We keep dodging his knives but then he shows up out of nowhere. Why is he so fast?”

Why was he so fast? Beomgyu’s brows furrowed. Was the Mage’s Magic focused on speed enhancement? Is that why they couldn’t hit him? Something didn’t make sense to Beomgyu.

“Laying down on the job?” The Ripper’s voice sang in as he hovered above them, “No wonder you haven’t found all of the scrolls yet. You’re _too_ slow.”

Beomgyu and Kai’s eyes met each other before they pushed themselves off the ground. Kai ran in the opposite direction from Beomgyu – The Ripper’s focus was aimed at the Celestial Mage.

“If I catch you, our Guild Master will be so happy,” The Ripper sang as he skipped after Beomgyu. “You’ll come with us alive …but I want to see your blood, Mage.” He threw Mana fused knives toward Beomgyu.

The Celestial Mage bared avoided the barrage of knives – he barely made it to hide behind the trunk of a tree. As he peered from where he hid, he couldn’t see The Ripper but when he turned back, the shag of blonde hair was in front of him. Beomgyu’s eyes widened as he tried to move away, but his wrist was held down so tightly, he couldn’t break free.

“Pretty, pretty,” The Ripper said as he waved a knife in front of Beomgyu. “You’re so pretty, I can’t wait to make you even prettier.” He gently traced the knife against Beomgyu’s cheek, lightly brushing it against the skin but not puncturing it. “How about if we make you smi---”

A tree was thrown at The Ripper.

Beomgyu’s eyes narrowed as he turned his head to the right very slowly. Hueningkai had transformed into one of his Beast Soul forms – a large, mammoth creature whose strength could easily toss trees as if they were baseballs. Kai gave Beomgyu a thumbs up as the Celestial Mage leaned back against the tree. He closed his eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief.

The relief did not last long.

Why was this demon of a Mage so god damn fast? Beomgyu couldn’t figure it out.

The Dark Mage recovered from where he’d been tossed to. He skipped through the trees until he reached enough momentum to kick Kai’s mammoth form. His kick hit the side of Kai’s head and then in an instance, he appeared behind Kai – every time Beomgyu blinked, this Mage was in a different direction. Then he blinked once more and the Mage was in front of him. Beomgyu scrambled to get away, but the Mage punched him so hard he fell next to Kai.

“How are we supposed beat him when we can’t even see him?” Kai growled.

That was the million-dollar question – Beomgyu stared at the sky where Toto had taken off to. The bird was still above them – it circled above them. But why was Toto flying that quickly? When did Toto get that fast?

“Beomgyu, move!” Kai shouted as he shoved Beomgyu out of the way. While Beomgyu was safe, the knives embedded themselves into Kai’s arm. The younger Mage let out a growl of pain as he tried to pull off the knives. The Ripper skipped over to where Kai was, happily singing about the red blood as he arrived.

The Celestial Mage stayed hidden as he could hear Kai try to fight the Dark Mage. He couldn’t figure out why this Mage was so fast and why Toto was flying so fa—Beomgyu’s eyes lifted from where he’d been hiding. _Stupid, stupid_. He should have figured it out earlier. He nodded to himself, he was going to need Kai’s help for this.

The Dark Mage busied himself, searching for where Beomgyu had hidden. Beomgyu learned the tricked last time he was with Yeonjun – though it wasn’t as impressive as creating thunder and shooting off at a distance, Beomgyu took a rock and tossed in a direction as far away from him as he could. He waited until the Dark Mage rushed to it.

“Kai,” Beomgyu whispered as he made his way to where Kai was, “Oh my god, Kai.” He gently reached for the knives in Kai’s arm and pulled them out as gently as he could. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Beomgyu repeated as he tried to move even slower, even more gently, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Kai muttered under his breath, “You need to get out of here. I’ll distract him, you can go get Soobin and Taehyun.”

“We’re not separating. Don’t be stupid,” Beomgyu hissed at him, “But I do need your help, Kai. I figure out how to beat him. But you need to trust me.”

“Okay.”

“I need you to throw me as far up in the air as you possibly could,” Beomgyu stated.

“What the fuck? Are you insane?” Kai spat out, “No, are you? Like are you literally insane?”

“Throw me in the air, Hueningkai. Throw me in the goddamned air if you want to live,” Beomgyu demanded from Kai, “Look, just trust me. Trust me.”

Kai looked over to the direction of the forest. That Mage might be back at any moment. He growled under his breath as he forced himself up. He reached for Beomgyu and muttered, “You better not die.”

“I won’t die. I have to go the Summoner’s Ball, I can’t die before that,” Beomgyu grinned, “Now, throw me as far up into the air as you can possibly throw me.”

Just as Beomgyu requested, Kai threw the Celestial Mage as far up in the air as he could possibly throw him. In his Beast Soul form, he was able to throw Beomgyu at least 16 stories into the air and just in time, The Ripper returned. Kai turned into a defensive form as the Dark Mage rushed at him with knives at hand. The weapons were thrown but The Ripper disappeared and appeared behind Kai, ready to kick him down. When the kick connected, Kai hit the ground and stared up into the sky.

“He really is insane,” Kai muttered.

“O key of Aries,” Beomgyu tried to keep himself calm and not freak out from the height that he was at. He tried to keep himself steady until he was able to finish his incantation and ended with, “ ** _Aries, release_**!”

In a flash of light, the Spirit of Aries appeared in air with him. Her eyes widened as she stared at Beomgyu and then realized where they were – there was a moment of complete confusion before she said, “Master Beomgyu, I don’t know what’s happening but please let me know what you need me to do. I’ll try my best …I don’t know how to fly, but I can try my hardest.”

If gravity wasn’t about to set in, Beomgyu would have thought she was adorable but right now, they had other things to tend to. “That Mage, not the beast thing, that blonde one,” Beomgyu pointed, “Attack him. Attack him with all of your strength, Aries.”

Aries nodded before she held both of her arms in front of her, “WOOL BOMB!” At the sound of her voice, bright, pink balls of wool came tumbling from her hands and toward The Ripper. Each ball of wool hit The Ripper and the moment it connected, it exploded – the wool expanded and trapped The Ripper. Aries’ attack kept going until The Ripper couldn’t avoid the barrage of wool – he drowned in the pink wool, unable to break away from it.

Beomgyu clapped his hands together excitedly as he reached for Aries. He gave her an excited hug as they continued to fall from the sky, “Thank you so much, Aries. I knew I could count on you. You did amazing! You’re so wonderful.”

Aries squeaked into the hug. She might have cried a little, but Beomgyu wasn’t going to say anything. “But Master Beomgyu, we’re falling. I don’t know how to –”

“I’m sending you back into the Celestial Realm, Aries.”

“Master Beomgyu!” She cried out, “You’ll get hurt. You can use me as to break your fall, it’s okay. I’m used to it.”

“No. You did good, Aries. It’s time for you to go home,” Beomgyu said as he held her key out, “Aries, return.” Now, this is where Beomgyu wished he had fully thought his plan through – he had no landing contingency plan. Well, he could still look good in a suit with a few broken limbs, right? Beomgyu braced himself for a fall but he felt claws grip at his shoulders.

The Celestial Mage looked over to the giant, beautiful green bird who held him. It looked so beautiful, so majestic that Beomgyu didn’t have the words to describe it.

“ _Master Beomie ~ I caught you just in time ~_ ”

“Toto?”

* * *

“I didn’t know you could transform like that,” Beomgyu said as Toto returned to his smaller form. It perched itself on Beomgyu’s shoulder and nuzzled its head against him. “That was amazing.”

‘ _I wanted to keep you safe, Master Beomie ~_ ’

Beomgyu had heard that Celestial Spirits could gain new abilities depending on their Mages. He wondered if Toto had learned a new technique because of him. Beomgyu smiled as he brushed a finger against Toto’s head.

“Kai!” Beomgyu remembered as he ran over to the younger Mage, “Sorry, sorry. Come on, let’s get you to Soobin, he can heal you.” He reached over to help Kai up, “Come on, lean on me.”

“How did you—” Kai started as he put his weight against Beomgyu, “How did you even figure out what to do against that demon Mage?”

“Toto, actually,” Beomgyu explained as he helped Kai walk down the path to Soobin and Taehyun. He made sure to take his time, “When we were laying on the ground, I saw Toto flying above us but he was flying so fast. It didn’t make sense to me why Toto was flying so fast but the clouds were also moving just as fast.” He nodded, “Then I realized that The Ripper was using Area-focused Magic. He was never fast, he just made us move slow – the area he cast the spell was affected and made us move slow.”

“That’s why you asked me to throw you in the air,” Kai grinned at him as he shook his head in surprise, “You’re brilliant but also insane.”

“I’m a Celestial Mage. I need to be strategic as hell,” Beomgyu grinned.

* * *

There was a renewed sense of urgency when they returned to the Guildhall.

The mention of the Macabre Grimoire Mages being in the Kingdom changed all of their plans – every single location scroll team needed to have one of the Virtues, or any of their other S-rank mages. They couldn’t risk an ambush like this from happening again.

Soobin had been taken to their Guild Master’s office with the rest of the Virtues. Beomgyu wasn’t sure why they needed Soobin on his own, but Taehyun seemed to know. Despite the pestering from Beomgyu, Taehyun scolded him – “Soobin will tell you when he’s ready,” the blonde Mage insisted every time that Beomgyu asked.

When Soobin finally came out the office, Beomgyu’s eyes squinted, narrowed as Taehyun ran up to give him a hug. Beomgyu walked over to the pair as he folded his arms over his chest, “I expect to be the best man, you know.”

Soobin rolled his eyes and tried to change the topic immediately, “Jimin, Seokjin and Namjoon will be chaperoning us to the Summoner’s Ball.”

“What?” Beomgyu frowned but understood the reason why.

Despite the worry of the chaperones, Beomgyu had been so excited about going to the Castle that he actually woke up early that day. He was up early, packed and ready even before everyone was at the Guild. He had been through so much trouble lately that going to the Castle to see Yeonjun was the one thing that he was looking forward to. 

“Someone’s in a good mood,” Soobin commented as he walked next to Beomgyu, “I can’t believe you were up that early, Beomgyu. I never knew you could wake up that early.”

“Someone’s waiting for me at the Castle, Soobin. I just want to be there already,” Beomgyu sighed, “Besides, even it’s just one night, I think we need something kind of fun or normalness, you know?”

“Yeah, I agree,” Soobin nodded, “Everything’s been so insane lately. Like, I don’t even know what to expect next, you know? I just hope that everything is easy going for now …”

* * *

There were days when the Castle was peaceful, when everything felt like it would go well.

Today was not that day.

Yeonjun kicked at the intruders, shoving them down the stairs before he snapped his fingers and released a bolt of lightning. He immediately twisted himself around, throwing his left elbow at the assailant behind him and shooting a bolt of thunder at them with his right hand.

“Move,” he shouted at the Castle’s waitstaff after he cleared the path, “Move, get out of here. You have to leave now. They’re not going to stop coming. Use the passage in the 2nd kitchen. Go, now!”

“My Prince, you’re bleeding,” the maids cried out, “You’re hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, go. Leave now. I’ll take care of them.”

The attack started an hour ago – they stormed the Castle doors, everyone assumed they were angry townsfolk wanting to have audience with the King. They weren’t.

Allantrez’ Army had made their way into the Castle.

The Royal Guards were quick to get on the defensive, ushering the King into safety but in quick second, the Guards were taken care of. It seemed that the Allantrez Army had received their weaponized Magic – they looked like small boxes that were activated by materialized forms of Mana. When Mana was embedded into the boxes, they were able to release attacks that even higher classes Mages were unable to do. The Royal Guards had no chance.

Yeonjun was the only one in the castle that could fight.

And so he did.

The goal was to get as many people out as possible – he immediately headed for their maids and staff quarters, ushering them out and protecting them. He sent them down the secret passages, pushed them through and held back the attacks aimed at them.

Despite his usual Magical strength, he wasn’t immune to the attacks of these new Magical weapons but he had a duty to his people.

“ **THUNDER SET,”** Yeonjun cried out as he brought his fist to the ground. The sky lit up, thunder and lightning evident as the element crashed through the Castle. The surge of electricity paralyzed the attackers for a moment – it was just enough time for Yeonjun to make it where the King, Su-Jin and Edmonds had been hidden at.

“Oh, thank God,” Yeonjun cried as he ran over to them. He hugged them tightly, nearly in tears. “I thought they got you three.”

“My Son,” the King said as he reached for Yeonjun’s shoulder, “You’re hurt. You’re bleeding everywhere. We need to get yo—”

Yeonjun shook his head, “You three need to leave. You need to go now.”

“We aren’t leaving you,” Su-Jin protested, “We can leave together.”

“No, you have to leave, now. These aren’t regular invaders,” Yeonjun explained, “Our guards can’t hold them off but I can. You have to lea—” Yeonjun turned his head at the sound of people entering the room. He clapped his hands together and electricity formed between them as he separated them – “ ** _Electricco Shock_** ,” Yeonjun threw the ball of electricity at the attackers which sent them out of the room, dazed in an electrical paralysis,

Yeonjun turned back to them and pointed, “The passage in the 2nd kitchen, take it and leave. Go find the BH Guild. Tell them to stay away from the Castle. Tell them that Allantrez has the weaponized Magic now. Ask them to protect the King.”

“My Prince,” Edmonds reached for Yeonjun, “What about you? You need to leave too.”

Yeonjun frowned. “I’ll hold them back. I have to,” he nodded, “It’s my duty to my people.” There were times when Yeonjun wished he wasn’t a realist but unfortunately, he already knew what his fate about to be. He licked his lips nervously as he tried to calm himself down. He reached for his necklace – the Prince’s pendant – and placed it in Edmonds’ hand. “Please, give this to Beomgyu,” Yeonjun said slowly, “And tell him …tell him I’m sorry, I don’t think I can see the Great and Handsome Beomgyu in that suit. Please tell him that I—” Yeonjun stopped as he heard the footsteps coming in. He shoved Edmonds, “Go now. Leave.”

Once the three went through the passage, Yeonjun closed his eyes for a second before he summoned the lightning to destroy the exit path – no one else could follow that path. He sighed before he turned to face the incoming attackers.

“Long live Chronos,” Yeonjun’s infamous smirk returned as the thunder in the sky roared.

* * *

The closer they got to the Castle, the more excited Beomgyu got.

“You look like you’re about to explode,” Taehyun pointed out as he looked at Beomgyu’s face. He snorted, “Why do you look constipated?”

“I am not constipated. I suddenly got nervous,” Beomgyu swatted at Taehyun. He put his hand to his chest, “I don’t know why my heart is beating so fas—,” he jumped at the sound of thunder. The Celestial Mage looked up at the sky above the Castle – there was so much thunder and lightning.

“That’s weird,” Kai said, “I thought it was supposed to be clear skies.”

The group stood quiet for a moment, listening to the sound of the skies. They were unsure of what to make of it. Beomgyu left his hand against his chest – why was it beating so fast now? He tried to shake himself into focus but there was a sound of rustling coming their way.

“Help,” was what the older man cried out as he nearly fell to the ground. There were tearstains and bloodstains that soaked through his clothing, “Please help us. The King, the King! He needs help.”

At the mention of the King, the BH Mages moved into action. They rushed toward the man, asking for directions on where to go – they immediately called Soobin over to tend to the wounds. The blue-haired Healer asked no questions and healed as quickly as he could, “It’s okay, you’re okay. I’m Soobin,” he said to the older man, “I’m a member of the BH Guild and we’re here to help.”

The old man’s eyes opened at the mention of the BH Guild, “The Prince, he said to find you. He said to tell you not to go to the Castle. Allantrez, they have the weaponized Magic! They attacked the Castle. They’re still attacking the castle.” The elderly man struggled as he reached for his pocket, “Where is …is there a Beomgyu here?”

At the mention of his name, Beomgyu made his way to the man’s side. He knelt down beside him, “I’m Beomgyu. Is everything okay? Is Yeonjun okay?”

The elderly man did not answer right away. He reached for Beomgyu’s hand, opened it and placed Yeonjun’s necklace in the center of it. Beomgyu’s eyes widened at the necklace and searched the older man, “What is this?”

“The Prince wanted me to give this to you. He said to tell you that he was ‘Sorry’ and that he wouldn’t be able to see you in that suit,” the elderly man said as his face formed into a sadden frown.

Beomgyu felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Taehyun caught him, “Beomgyu.”

“I—Taehyu—Yeonjun’s fighting,” Beomgyu said as he tried to head to the Castle. Taehyun held him back and Beomgyu struggled to get free, “He’s still fighting right now. There’s lightning and thunder. That means, Yeonjun is still fighting right now. If we hurry, we can get to him. Taehyun, let me go,” Beomgyu struggled against the blonde Mage. “Please, we can go to Yeonjun. You can hear it. He’s still figh—”

Beomgyu felt his heart drop the moment that the lightning and the thunder came to a stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter. I actually tried to get this chapter out last night, but the Soobin/Merda scene had me very tired. So, I apologize.
> 
> This is a very heavy chapter, so I appreciate you for getting through all of it. I don't really think I can say anything here to make up for that ending but ...please just wait for the next chapter.
> 
> Thank you again.  
> As always, love ya and appreciate ya!


	11. Into the Heart of the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was no way that anyone in the BH Guild would have permitted anyone to go into a rescue mission for Yeonjun. Not with the way the deck was stacked against them. Beomgyu knew this.
> 
> However, it was always easier to ask for forgiveness than it was to ask for permission.

Yeonjun groaned.

It took every ounce of energy to try and open his eyes, but even with his effort, Yeonjun couldn’t. Everything hurt – even trying to think hurt. The slightest movement was difficult; there’d never been a time when Yeonjun was this badly injured, even after fighting Dark Guilds on his own. The Dragon Slayer gave up trying to move, he let his head rest as he groaned.

“Babe,” the most familiar voice called out to him, “Yeonjun, are you still in bed?”

Whatever pain Yeonjun had previously no longer had any hold on him. Even in the darkness, he knew whose voice that was – warm as honey, velvety enough to bury oneself in: Beomgyu’s voice was Yeonjun’s favorite.

“Baby,” Beomgyu whined as he put a hand on Yeonjun’s shoulder. He gently nudged Yeonjun’s shoulder, “Come on, you need to wake up. You promised you’d help me.”

At the Castle, when the attacks got relentless, Beomgyu was the hope that Yeonjun kept fighting. Yeonjun kept telling himself that Beomgyu had been waiting for him – that he had to get back so he could show off the Great and Handsome Beomgyu to everyone; hope came in many forms and for Yeonjun, it had been Beomgyu.

The moment Yeonjun opened his eyes, he could have cried. Beomgyu was staring right at him, bottom lip jutted out into a pout – Yeonjun could have kissed him right then and there. He would have too, if Beomgyu did move away from him so quickly.

“You have to get up, the twins are finally asleep, and we have time to get everything ready now,” Beomgyu said he walked toward the door. _Twins?_ Yeonjun tilted his head and before he could even ask, his eyes fell on the baby boy that Beomgyu carried against his hip. _Baby?_ “Yeonjun, come on, I can’t do this alone.” The tone in Beomgyu’s voice turned soft as he hugged the baby closely. He pressed a kiss on its forehead, “Dad’s being really weird, huh? Papa shouldn’t have married someone so old – he’s going through Alzheimer’s already.” The baby gurled with excitement at the sound of Beomgyu’s voice.

Despite being completely confused, Yeonjun followed after Beomgyu, “Beomgyu, what are you talking about?”

“Oh my god, Yeonjun,” Beomgyu let out an exasperated sigh, “Remember, my parents are coming over and we have like an hour until the twins wake up. Once they wake up, they’re going to climb all over you and be like, ‘ _Dad, dad. Play with us, we want to play_ ~’.” Beomgyu pointed at Yeonjun, “And you have never learned to say no to them. So, come on. We need to hurry..”

“The twins?”

“Oh, honey,” Beomgyu put a hand against Yeonjun’s cheek and brushed his thumb against Yeonjun’s cheek. Yeonjun felt the heat rush to his face as Beomgyu leaned in to kiss his cheek, “It’s four years too late to pretend you’re not the father. If you didn’t want children, you should have said so before we got married. It’s too late now. I’ve grown too attached to them and this kiddo too,” Beomgyu handed the small baby boy to Yeonjun, “Here, you can hold him. He wants dad’s attention too, especially since dad’s being weird. So, papa here needs to do all the work.”

Yeonjun blinked at the baby in his arms. It looked like Beomgyu – Yeonjun couldn’t help but smile.

This was nice.

“ **So, this is what people of power dream about: a normal life**.”

Yeonjun’s attention turned from the baby in his arms to where the voice came from. A familiar blue haired mermaid with a scowl on her face. Her arms were folded over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at Yeonjun.

“I can’t believe of all the things you could dream about; you dream about being married with children with that brat,” Aquarius scoffed at Yeonjun and shook her head gently.

“It’s not that bad,” the Spirit of Leo spoke as he walked next to where Beomgyu had busied himself with cooking. He held a hand out and gestured to him, “Being married to Beomgyu is a top tier goal.” Then Leo stopped and pointed at Yeonjun, “But you’re not marrying Beomgyu. Not without my permission.”

“What are you two talking about?” Yeonjun rose an eyebrow at them, “Why are you even here? Beomgyu and I have to get ready for his parents’ arrival.”

Aquarius rolled her eyes, “Unfortunately, you and our brat haven’t gotten married yet.” She snapped her fingers and whatever dream Yeonjun had found himself in disappeared – the baby boy that looked like Beomgyu, the twins that had finally gone to sleep and Beomgyu who had been so insistent on preparing for his parents, all gone. Yeonjun felt his heart ache for the life that could have been. “You can earn that after you get out here, Dragon Slayer.”

“Where am I?” Yeonjun finally asked.

“For some reason, your conscience made it into the Celestial Realm,” Leo said as he tapped his index finger on Yeonjun’s forehead. “When we first met you, I already thought you were weird, but I don’t think you’re even aware that you have Celestial Mana embedded in your regular Mana.”

“What?”

Aquarius finally made her way over to Yeonjun. She put a hand on his shoulder, “Someone or something put Celestial Mana in you and that’s why your conscience has you here in the Celestial Realm. But you need to get out of here, Dragon Slayer. The longer you’re here the harder it will be for you to get back to your realm.” She nodded toward Leo, “I’ll let you have the honors. You’ll probably enjoy it.”

Leo grinned as he cracked his knuckles. He smiled at Yeonjun, “It’s time for you to go back, love-rival.” His hand curled into a fist as he pulled it back. Yeonjun didn’t have time to react before Leo’s fist hit his face with force so hard that everything turned dark.

_“… it’s amazing that he’s still alive.”_

There were voices – too many of them, too unfamiliar. It felt like he was floating but as curious as Yeonjun was, he knew he shouldn’t open his eyes. Not yet.

_“We spent all that time looking for Celestial Mage to replace that wretched woman. We looked for one of them to drain Mana from when we could have just taken Chronos’ Prince.”_

_“He’s not as fragile as I thought a Prince would be. I thought he would have died from all the blood loss.”_

_“It’s strange. I’ve never seen someone with Celestial Mana embedded in them before. On top of that, he has three casting circles that are still active right here, here and here_.”

Yeonjun knew what they were talking about. It was the reason why he could cast spells in such quick succession that it didn’t even seem like he used a casting circle; three casting circles that haven’t been closed in the years since he lost his mother – they were the only things that kept him living. His mother had taught them to him and for as long as he lived, he knew they’d never close.

_“Look at the circles. They’re not fresh, they’ve been going for years. I’m surprised they’re still open right now. They expend a lot of energy and yet, somehow, he fought the way he did. The Prince of Chronos is an enigma. After use him for Mana Drain, I can’t wait to dissect his secrets.”_

Yeonjun heard someone tap on glass as it asked, _“What are you hiding, Prince of Chronos? Just who **are** you?”_

* * *

Beomgyu knew he was being selfish.

The BH Guild had been busy since the attack on the Castle. Between protecting the King and preparing for whatever attack would be aimed at them, the Guild had their hands full. No one was allowed to go on a Quest without an A-Class Mage; everyone who wasn’t on a quest was encouraged to be home before sundown – the BH Guild had a target on their back since the news of Macabre Grimoire’s Castle takeover spread.

The Guild needed his help, Beomgyu knew this …but how were they able to move on so quickly? How did the King get straight into business when his son just died? How were the people that met Yeonjun able to keep going? How was Beomgyu supposed to move on past this?

Beomgyu rolled over in his bed. He wasn’t sure what time it was or what day it was anymore – he didn’t care. He turned over again and tossed around. Beomgyu kept restlessly tossing and turning until the teddy bear that Yeonjun had won for him fell on top of his head.

“Stupid,” Beomgyu muttered as he pulled the teddy bear into a hug. He muttered the word over and over again, but even that couldn’t mask the tears began to stain his cheeks. Maybe he was the stupid one, clinging on like this. It just felt so unfair. They were just starting their chapter; he was just beginning to enjoy a relationship, to learn his feelings for Yeonjun and then – “Stupid.” He buried his face into the teddy bear wishing it was someone else.

“Ah, you’re actually awake this time,” Beomgyu groaned at Taehyun’s voice. Unfortunately, the lock on Beomgyu’s apartment door was not enough to keep the blonde Mage or their two stupidly tall friends away. Beomgyu peered from behind the teddy bear to realize that today, he had the pleasure of having all three of his friends in apartment _without_ permission.

“Go away,” Beomgyu muttered as he hid his face into the teddy bear again, “I’ll have all three of you arrested for trespassing, I swear.”

“It’s not trespassing,” Soobin said as he sat on the bed next to Beomgyu. He put a hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder, “It’s an intervention. We need to get you out of your apartment, Beomgyu.”

“No.”

“Come on, Beomgyu,” Hueningkai walked over to Beomgyu’s bed. He didn’t know what to do with his hands, so put them in his pockets. There was obvious worry in his eyes, “You need to at least eat. You can’t just stay here like this forever.”

“Watch me,” Beomgyu said as he pulled his blanket over his head.

“Okay, that’s it,” Taehyun said as he pushed past both Soobin and Hueningkai. “They’re being nice, but you need to get out bed. You haven’t moved in a week and we’re starting to run out of time.” He pulled the blanket off Beomgyu, who just curled into a ball. “You can’t stay here forever. Someone mi—”

Soobin reached for Taehyun’s hand. He gave the younger Mage a look that asked him to be gentler, “I know it’s urgent that he help, but if you were in his position, it’d be hard to go.” Taehyun frowned as he nodded slowly. Soobin let go of Taehyun’s hand before he put a hand on Beomgyu’s back, gently rubbing consoling circles on it. “Beomgyu, I know it’s tough, but you need to take care of yourself. We can’t lose you too.”

Beomgyu knew he wasn’t being fair, especially to his friends but his heart felt so heavy.

Luckily for Beomgyu and his friends, his Celestial Spirits would never let their Mage fall so far away.

The brightness that came from the Gold Zodiac Keys filled the room. Soobin tried to shield his and Taehyun’s eyes from it; Kai pressed both hands into his face to protect himself. _Forced Celestial Entrances_ were always the brightest.

When the light finally settled, Beomgyu was immediately doused with a stream of water. The blue-haired mermaid held the empty water pot above him before she reached a free hand to hit the back of his head, “You brat.”

“Aquarius, please if you’re going to throw water on me, just drown me,” Beomgyu dramatically sighed.

“The mermaid’s back,” Kai said as he pointed at Aquarius, “She’s so pretty.”

“No, she’s not pretty. She’s evil,” Beomgyu muttered.

“Look, you brat,” Aquarius said she put a gentle hand on Beomgyu’s cheek, “I know you’re upset but you realize that all of your Celestial Spirits are connected to you. If you let yourself go to waste, you’re going to hurt all of us.” She brushed her thumb against his cheek before she pinched it, “You can’t give up just because you think your boyfriend is dead. I haven’t seen mine since our keys were separated and I’m not moping around.”

“Your boyfriend’s not dead,” Beomgyu said as he tried to break away from Aquarius’ pinching, “You can’t compare being separated from Yeonjun literally being dead.”

“Oh, shut up, you brat. Your boyfriend’s not dead either,” she said as she recached her other hand to pinch Beomgyu’s other cheek. She pulled both of his cheeks, “So, stop being this mopey shit.”

“Why are you so mean to me? I’m mourning my de—Yeonjun’s not dead?” It took a second for Aquarius’ words to hit Beomgyu but when it did, his eyes opened widely, “Wait, wait. How do you know this, Aquarius?”

Aquarius let go of Beomgyu’s cheeks as she made her way across the room. She waited for all of their attention to be on her before she spoke, “His consciousness somehow made its way into our Celestial Realm. I knew his Mana was mixed with Celestial Mana, but I didn’t realize how much it was mixed with.” She nodded at Beomgyu, “When you were near death, you made it into our realm but you’re a Celestial Mage. I didn’t know your Dragon Slayer had Celestial Mana in him that could transport him into our realm like that.”

“Mixed Mana?” Taehyun asked, his eyes narrowed for a moment. With knitted brows, he looked up at Aquarius, “How is that even possible? That’s almost unheard of.”

“He’s alive?” Beomgyu interrupted as he sat up on his bed. He looked at Aquarius with seriousness, “Are you sure? He’s alive?”

“Leo pun— _sent_ him back into reality. His consciousness should have returned to where he physically is,” Aquarius explained as she looked at Beomgyu and then snorted at the dream she and Leo intruded in. “I can tell you easily that he misses you.”

Beomgyu tried to hide the blush that started to settle on his cheeks behind the teddy bear. He cleared his throat before he said, “I’m going to find him.”

But that was easier said than done.

* * *

There was no way that anyone in the BH Guild would have permitted anyone to go into a rescue mission for Yeonjun. Not with the way the deck was stacked against them. Beomgyu knew this.

However, it was always easier to ask for forgiveness than it was to ask for permission.

“I cannot believe you’re being reckless at a time like this,” Taehyun hissed as he followed Beomgyu, “You’re going to get us all killed.”

“At least, we’ll be killed together. Teamwork, baby,” Beomgyu gave Taehyun a thumbs up as he walked ahead, “Besides, I didn’t tell any of you to come follow me. You all could have just stayed at the Guild and not be here.”

Soobin put an arm around Beomgyu, “That’s not an option, Beomgyu. You know that?” He sent Beomgyu a knowing look and said, “Besides, I can get into Macabre Grimoire. The three of you can’t.” Beomgyu caught the frustrated expression on Taehyun’s face after Soobin said that – the Celestial Mage was willing to bet that saving Yeonjun wasn’t Taehyun’s reason for following.

“What is our plan?” Kai finally asked, “I hope we’re not just … winging … it?” His expression fell flat as Beomgyu shrugged at him. Kai covered his face with his hands and groaned. “We’re walking into enemy territory, into enemy base full of enemies and we have no plan to protect ourselves from said enemies.”

“Say enemy one more time, I dare you,” Beomgyu muttered under his breath.

“Well, I guess, I’ll get into Macabre Grimoire and find Yeonjun,” Soobin volunteered. He paused as he saw the concern make its way onto Taehyun’s face. The blue-haired Mage walked to him, he took Taehyun’s hands into his and said, “Macabre Grimoire wants me to be part of them. They’re not going to hurt me, I promise.”

“You killed Merda,” Taehyun reminded him, “Won’t they retaliate?”

“No,” Soobin’s eyes formed into a stern gaze, “They need me more because of that.”

“Still …,” Taehyun’s frown seemed as though it was becoming a permanent fixture during this conversation. He sighed; he knew he wouldn’t be able to change anyone’s opinion. “Please, just be careful, Soobin. Don’t be stupid.”

At the sight of Taehyun’s frustration, Beomgyu felt the guilt in the back of his mind. He bit the inside of his cheek, chewed it for a second before he nodded, “If something happens, you need to just leave, Soobin. With or without Yeonjun …it’d be worse if both of you were held captive.”

“So, Soobin’s going to go in and find Yeonjun.” Kai repeated the plan, “And the three of us will circle around the Castle and to find a route for him?” He sounded unsure, but the entire plan was uncertain and risky.

* * *

“Okay, okay. You can do this.”

This was for the Guild – Soobin repeated that to himself. Although, he wasn’t particularly close Yeonjun yet, he knew that having Yeonjun available and on their side would be an advantage. He’d been witness to the ferocity of the Dragon Slayer’s ability on the battlefield – it was a no brainer that with the impending battle with Macabre Grimoire and the Allantrez Kingdom, it would be important to have Yeonjun on their side.

“Who goes there?” The gruff voice of the guard carried over the entrance.

Soobin took a final breath before he answered, “Choi Soobin. Tell the Master that I need to tal—”

It seemed that Macabre Grimoire had been waiting for Soobin’s return.

Marshmallows – Soobin counted exactly ten marshmallows that the Macabre Grimoire Guild Master ate since he stepped into the Castle. Soobin had seen images of the Castle before. He thought it had been beautiful, decorated with flowers and adorned with loving images …but since Macabre Grimoire took it over, the warmth that the Castle initially exuded turned cold. It no longer seemed like the proud and prestigious Castle for the Kingdom of Chronos. He cleared his throat as he looked at the Dark Guild Master.

“Choi Soobin,” the man’s voice was excited as he chewed through another marshmallow, “I heard about your reunion with Merda.”

“It was hardly a reunion,” Soobin commented. He felt uneasy but tried his best to maintain a calm demeanor. The Guild Master’s eyes were sharp – each gaze stabbed through Soobin, like he was searching any reason to attack. Soobin cleared his throat, “She miscalculated against me.”

“I think we’ve all miscalculated against you. I didn’t think you would come back home.”

Soobin smiled at the Guild Master, “I’m always going to be on the winning side.”

“Good,” the Guild Master spoke with a glimmer of happiness, “I never liked her anyway. Too much red, I always liked blue.” The Guild Master’s pale complexion glistened in the light – pale everything, almost to a sheer level of white except for the pale purple tattoo on under his right eye. It was said that white was a color of pureness, but for this Guild Master, it was anything but purity.

Though the Guild Master was already accepting of Soobin’s return, it was the rest of his team that argued against it. They claimed that he needed to show his loyalty, to prove that he deserved to be part of Macabre Grimoire again.

“Soobinie, if you want to be back with us, I need your help with one thing,” the Guild Master spoke. His voice was filled with giddiness, as if he was whispering a secret to someone. “Do you remember that woman from so many years ago? The one you helped me put to sleep?”

How could Soobin forget? She cried for her son, screamed that she needed to get back to him; she begged and pleaded, asked Soobin to help her see her son again. Soobin asked if he needed to do it but he was so young at the time, anything Macabre Grimoire’s members said convinced him. If he could have repeated the past, he would have saved her instead.

“Yes,” Soobin forced the word out as he nodded.

“I need your help. We need you to do that to the ex-Crowned Prince of Chronos.”

* * *

How did they end up here?

When Soobin went into the Castle, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai decided that they were going to scout the Castle grounds for a secret entrance. So, why did the three of them end up here?

“Oh, fuck,” Beomgyu muttered under his breath. Why were they in a graveyard of all places? Why did the Castle have to have a graveyard on its grounds? Everything in the graveyard seemed worse that it was – from the eerie way that the wind blew to the soft echoes of their footsteps, everything sounded wrong and terrifying. “Oh, fuck.”

Luckily for Beomgyu, he wasn’t the only one that seemed terrified of their current situation. For all the toughness that Taehyun paraded around them, he had linked his arm with Beomgyu’s. At any sound, the blonde Mage squirmed against the Celestial one. _Cute_ , Beomgyu mused and he would have teased him more if he wasn’t so scared. Fucking graveyards.

“Shit!” Beomgyu shouted as a hand crawled out of one of the graves. He and Taehyun both jumped back – a feeble attempt at separating themselves from whatever was crawling out.

“Holy …,” Kai gasped as the expired limbs of what was once a human force itself off the ground. At this point, Beomgyu tried to find a safe path away from whatever was crawling out of its own hellhole.

The animated dead began to pull itself out of the grave. Beomgyu couldn’t look at it. It was both terrifying and ugly; he wasn’t sure what to make of it, except that he needed to get away.

“Oh man …,” Kai said as he started to walk to the undead. Beomgyu and Taehyun both tried to call out to Kai, begging not to go near it. However, it didn’t work. The Beast Soul user made his way over to the undead as he put both hands on its head and pushed it down with as much strength as he could muster; he pushed the creature down as far as he could. “Oh, okay. See, it worked,” he said as he gave Taehyun and Beomgyu a thumbs up.

“ARGH,” the creature forced itself back up the grave, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, child?”

“Ah, an injured old man,” Kai said to the obvious zombie, “Are you okay?”

Beomgyu brought a hand up and smacked his forehead as he decided that this was the worst rescue mission that could have ever happened.

“You brat! I’m not an old man!” The undead crawled out of his grave, grabbing at Kai’s hand. “You’re not supposed to be here. None of you are.”

“Look, old man,” Kai struggled to say as he wriggled his arm free from the zombie. He moved his arm and with a final yank managed to pull himself free. Except …

“KAI! THERE’S AN ARM ON YOUR ARM?!” Beomgyu shouted as he pointed at the zombie’s arm attached to Kai’s. Beomgyu let out a cry of frustration and pointed at him. Taehyun shut his eyes, covered his face with his hands and let out a scream. “Kai!!” Beomgyu frantically called out.

“Oh,” Kai said as he removed the grip of the disembodied arm from his. He tossed it back to the zombie, “You lost that. You should get it sewed back on.”

“Yah! How are you so calm, Kai?” Beomgyu shouted as he tried to look away from the zombie.

“It’s not scary?” Kai shrugged, “Sir Zombie, is there any way we can get into the Castle without getting caught? A secret way or something?”

Beomgyu stared, horrified at the fact that Kai’s charms had managed to reach even the undead. There must have been a reason why the undead came to life in these Castle grounds, but it’s not something that was at the top of Beomgyu’s list at the moment.

* * *

It never made sense to Soobin why Castles needed dungeons for.

“If they didn’t have a dungeon, then they could have things like this,” Soobin muttered to himself as he walked down the stairs. Why did they have to ad all those stairs for? Soobin frowned as he walked down. He looked behind him, it seemed as though Macabre Grimoire left him on his own.

“Yeonjun?” Soobin whispered as he made his way down the stairs, “Yeonjun? Are you here?”

There wasn’t any answer, so Soobin kept walking down the stairs. He stopped at the foot of it, squinted his eyes as he looked around for where the bright haired Prin—“Ack!”

An arm wrapped around Soobin’s neck, putting pressure against Soobin’s throat. Soobin fell to his knees, struggling to breathe as he smacked the arm that held him down, “Let.” Soobin tried to break free. “Me.” He struggled, squirmed around. “Go.”

“Soobin?” The question was asked and the grip around Soobin’s neck was released. “Soobin? What are you doing here?”

“I was trying to help you, Yeonjun” Soobin breathed out as he gasped for breath. He rubbed his hand around his neck where Yeonjun’s grip had been. “Holy shit, why are you so strong for? I’m going to bruise because of you,” Soobin rubbed his neck, trying to massage the pain away. “Were you trying to kill me?”

“I wasn’t aiming for you,” Yeonjun admitted, “Macabre Grimoire might have gone here.” He looked over at Soobin and nodded, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He paused and looked over to the blue-haired Mage, “How did you get all the way down here?”

“Macabre Grimoire wants me to put you to sleep …,” Soobin said as he shrugged. “Clearly, I’m not going to do that. I’m surprised you’re still here? Can’t you just use your lightning and blow everything away?”

Yeonjun shook his head and frowned, “If I could, don’t you think I would have? They’ve been draining my Mana. If I keep going …I can’t let my Mana disappeared.” Mages’ Mana was their livelihood, but that was even moreso for Yeonjun. He looked over at Soobin and nodded, “So, I take it that you have an escape plan for here?”

Soobin reached for the back of his own head and gently rubbed it as he shook it. “I actually didn’t think that far ahead. I mean, I didn’t even think I would find you this easily.”

“Are you kidding me?” Yeonjun stared at him, flustered at the sudden hopelessness of this entire situation. He put his hand on hip and rolled his eyes. In a mocking tone, he let his frustration out, “ _I’m Soobin and I came to try and rescue someone without a plan. I might as well be a prisoner here myself._ ”

Soobin stared at Yeonjun and imitated the voice Yeonjun used, “ _I’m Yeonjun – I’m a Prince, but I got caught first and made my boyfriend cry for four days_.”

“ _I’m Soo_ —wait,” Yeonjun stopped as he looked at Soobin, “Beomgyu cried?”

“What do you think? The day we were going to the Castle, he wouldn’t stop talking about how excited he was to go to the Ball,” Soobin’s lips formed a small frown as he sighed, “He didn’t leave his bed for days. If we didn’t force him to eat, he probably would have just kept crying.”

“Okay, that’s it. We’re getting out of here,” Yeonjun decided.

* * *

“This is insane.”

Although Taehyun was referring to the Castle’s immense library that they were in, Beomgyu thought the fact that they were led here by Hueningkai’s new undead friend was more insane. None of this made sense and right now, Beomgyu was not in any mindset to pretend he could figure it out. What was important is that they were in Castle now, right?

“Bye, mister!” Hueningkai called out, “Have a good sleep.”

“That’s weird,” Beomgyu told Kai, “I don’t care that we’re in a world of Magic. It’s weird that you were able to befriend a zombie like that.” Beomgyu shook his head, “I don’t get it. I just don’t ge--,” he whipped his head around, looking for where their blonde friend had gone off to, “Where is Taehyun?”

Kai pointed where Taehyun had climbed up, “He’s climbing for something.”

“Taehyun,” Beomgyu hissed the whisper at him, “What are you doing? We’re supposed to be in the middle of a rescue mission. Why are you climbing up the bookshelves for? You’re not a fucking squirrel.”

Taehyun threw a book at Beomgyu.

Kai had to hold Beomgyu back from throwing the book back at Taehyun. He whispered, “Remember, we’re on a rescue mission? If they catch us, how are we supposed to rescue Yeonjun?” At Kai’s words, Beomgyu just breathed out a huff as he watched Taehyun continue to ascend the bookshelf.

“Ah, got it,” Taehyun said as he grabbed the scroll he had been searching for. There was a grin plastered on his face as he descended from the bookshelf. “Here,” he said as he shoved the scroll at Beomgyu, “Read it so you’re not useless anymore.”

“USELESS?” Beomgyu shouted as he looked at Taehyun, “How am I useless? I’ve never been useless. I’m amazing. Do you understand—”

“Just read it,” Taehyun looked at him, “We’re literally in the middle of Macabre Grimoire. I promise you, you’re going to need this more than any of us. Especially since we don’t know where Yeonjun is and he won’t be able to randomly save you again.” Taehyun nodded at him and then slid his hand into his own pocket; he pulled out a deck of cards, just in case.

Despite being frustrated at Taehyun’s words, Beomgyu read through the scroll – it was a spell for Celestial Mages. He blinked; eyes squinted as he tried to read the spell in the soft light. “Wait,” Beomgyu looked up at Taehyun, “Is this a real spell? I can do this?”

“I only heard about it once and they said that the Castle had the scroll for it. Apparently, there was a very powerful Celestial Mage here at one point but that’s just a rumor since no one’s ever heard of Mages in the Castle,” Taehyun shrugged, “The only Mage that lives in the Castle is Yeonjun and we barely found that out recently.”

“Guys,” Kai called out to them as he pushed his back against the door.

“What if the spell doesn’t work?” Beomgyu asked as his brows furrowed. He frowned, “What if it’s a dud? Actually, what if I’m not a high enough level to do the spell?”

“That’s a _you_ problem,” Taehyun responded, “I’ll be fine. You’re the one that’s going to have a hard time. I was trying to help you.”

Kai groaned as an argument between the two Mages erupted. The Beast Soul user had his back against the doors of the library, pushing it with all of his strength. He closed his eyes and took a deep breathe as he let out of a low growl – “Strength of the Beast,” he said as a Casting Circle emitted from the center of his chest. He’d been training with Hoseok almost every night – this was just another round of practice. This time, Kai didn’t shift completely – just his eyes. They sharpened, turning into the shape of a tiger’s as he put all of his strength against the door.

“What if the spe--,” Beomgyu stopped as he looked over Hueningkai.

“You know Macabre Grimoire?” Kai glared at them as he struggled to keep the doors shut, “They’re here now, by the way. Your argument called them here.”

* * *

“Your lightning would be really useful right now,” Soobin spat out as he and Yeonjun ran up the corridor steps. “Like really, really useful.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Yeonjun glared at him, “If I could, I would be using it right now.”

Soobin had no rescue plan. So, Yeonjun had to improvise way for them to get out – the first step involved Soobin calling the guard to say he _accidentally_ killed Yeonjun instead of putting him to sleep. Once the guard made their way to them, Yeonjun could have easily choked him into an easy sleep. However, after they made their way through the dungeon …they miscalculated the amount of Macabre Grimoire officers in the area.

“Move, move,” Yeonjun shoved Soobin forward, pushing the younger Mage to go faster. Although Yeonjun was sure he could have won in a physical fight, he wasn’t able to cast at the moment. All he could do was urge Soobin to move faster. They kept climbing the stairs, “Hurry up. We need to get to where my room is.”

“Why are we going to your room?”

“Remember how I used to take location scrolls from Dark Guilds?” Yeonjun asked as he pushed Soobin’s head down. A beam pushed itself between the two of them. “They should be in my room still,” Yeonjun said as he started to move ahead of Soobin, “Just follow me. Don’t get killed.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Soobin muttered as he forced himself to try and keep up with the older Mage. The blue-haired Healer wondered why they had to make Castles as big as this – it didn’t make any sense, why did the people in the Castle need this much room for? “How far until we get to yo—”

Yeonjun held a hand out in front of Soobin to stop him (Soobin didn’t stop, he ran right into Yeonjun’s hand and then fell backward). A large cloud of smoke spread out in front of them – someone was shoved through the Castle walls. The pink-haired Mage let out a soft ‘tsk’.

“Soobin,” Yeonjun called out, “When I give you the signal, be ready to run. Got it?”

_“Soobin?”_

_“Soobin, is that you? You found him?”_

As the dust settled, Soobin let out a sigh of relief. He collapsed on the floor. The adrenaline that had kept him running had finally disappeared and he wanted to melt into the ground.

“Taehyun, Hueningkai,” Soobin finally let out a smile, “I’m so glad to see you two.”

* * *

It was no surprise that they got separated.

Since Taehyun and Hueningkai had been closer to the door, the Macabre Grimoire members had gone after them first. Taehyun was also so quick to react and immediately cleared the first wave of attackers and Kai shifted as Taehyun’s cards landed each of their attacks.

“Shit,” Beomgyu muttered as he fumbled to keep the scroll in hand. He rolled to the side until he was in one of the aisles of the library. With his back against the bookshelf, he tried to finish reading the spell scroll that Taehyun had handed him. It didn’t seem too difficult at first …but assumptions often made things worse than they were. He sighed, “Okay, Beomgyu. You can do this. You’re the Great and Handsome Beomgyu. This is a level up.”

The Celestial Mage reached for one of the Keys that hung around his neck. His fingers curled around it, “O Key of Pisces, I call upon you and your strength. Please grant me your strength.” As his Mana poured into the key, he held the key out in front of him and turned it to unlock the Celestial Gate. The outline of the door expanded int the light as it welcomed the Summoned Spirit of Pisces, the paired fish.

In front of him emerged two figures: one of a beautiful woman with sleek, black hair, adorned with scales across her body and the other a muscular male with gray hair that stood proudly, scales spread across his lower half with sharp fins that emerge from his forearms. The pair had similarly sharp eyes that looked to Beomgyu for an answer.

“’Sup, mom?” The younger male said as he waved at Beomgyu, “We were starting to worry that you didn’t like us anymore.”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes, “You know that’s not true. I need your help.” He pointed in the direction of Taehyun and Hueningkai, “The Macabre Grimoire members that they’re fighting, can you two take care of them?” He held a scroll up in front of him, “I’m learning a spell that will help all of us.”

The pair of Pisces nodded before they jumped into the fray. It took the male Pisces all of one moment to strike the Macabre Grimoire members with as much force as he could – the members that were kicked flew through the walls. Each time he kicked at them, the Castle walls groaned until the final kick sent one unfortunate Mage through.

“Okay!” Beomgyu shouted as he gripped the Key of Pisces with his right hand, “I got it! I learned the spell.” He cried out with nervous excitement. He gripped the hilt of the Key as he released his Mana into it. He shot his left hand into the air, pointing the middle and index finger into the air; he drew a circle in the air with his fingers as he said, “Star Armor.” With his right hand, he pressed the head of the Key into the center of his palm before he shouted, “Unlock.”

The two entities of Pisces turned into bright light as their energy flew toward Beomgyu. The Celestial Mage was enveloped with their light as he felt himself be lifted from the ground. Their energy surrounded him entirely as he could feel the formation of light armor placed around him. As the new armor latched itself onto him, Beomgyu felt the handles of two weapons placed in his hands.

“What the fuck?” Beomgyu shouted when landed on his feet.

The Celestial Mage was suited in the Star Armor of Pisces. The sign of Pisces was placed on the shoulders of his light armor – the Spirits of Pisces were known combatants, so this armor was similar to their scaled display. He looked down at the weapons in his hands: twin blades, light in form but the ends were sharp enough to cut through anything that came his way.

“What the fuck is this?”

“He did it,” Taehyun whispered as he covered his mouth, “Beomgyu actually learned the Star Armor technique. I never thought I’d ever see it. I only ever read about it in books or heard it from whispers. The elders in my village said it was impossible to see in person.” There was a strange fixated excitement that came from Taehyun. His eyes widened, full of hope and full of joy.

Yeonjun turned to the blonde Mage. This seemed different from the stony face this Mage had when they last met. He rose an eyebrow, “Are you fanboying over Beomgyu?”

“No, I’m not a fan. Especially not of Beomgyu’s,” Taehyun rolled his eyes, trying to pretend that he wasn’t excited, “Star Armor is just something I never thought I would have seen. I still think Beomgyu’s pretty useless, but Star Armor isn’t.”

“I mean, it’s Beomgyu,” Yeonjun said as he nodded.

“If he is able to fight well, then this should be no problem. With the power of Pisces’ Star Armor, I’m pretty sure Beomgyu could wipe out the attackers,” Taehyun said and then looked away, “Not that I’m cheering him on or saying he’d be cool to do that. It’s just that the Star Arm—”

“Beomgyu doesn’t know how to fight,” Yeonjun interjected. He looked at Taehyun, “He’s a strategic Mage, not a physical fighter.”

“Oh …well,” Taehyun paused and then stared at Yeonjun, “You should probably use your lightning to save him.”

Beomgyu’s Star Armor transformation caught the attention of the Macabre Grimoire Mages. The Celestial Mage felt the panic rise within him as they drew near. He had no idea what he was doing or what he was supposed to do. The closer the Mages got, the more frantic Beomgyu felt. He waved the swords in the air, slashing at whatever was near by it didn’t hit anything. As awe-inspiring as this transformation had been, Beomgyu didn’t know what to do except try his best to not be grabbed by the incoming Mages.

“Shit, shit,” Beomgyu said as he closed his eyes. This rescue mission was the wor—and then he felt a familiar hand place itself around his wrist. The hand moved his arm to hit the attacker on his right hand side, then flipped the blade to hit the assailant behind him; it swung the blade in front of him, slashing those attacking. Another hand wrapped itself around his left wrist, pushing the blade forward and into the Mage.

“Beomgyu,” the voice that the Celestial Mage had been longing to hear spoke.

Beomgyu could feel his heart beat race. The hands on his wrists released as he felt them pull him into a hug a from behind. The Celestial Mage closed his eyes and let himself fall back into the embrace. “Yeonjun.”

“Sorry, I’m late,” the older Mage said softly. “I missed the Summoner’s Ball.”

Beomgyu shook his head, “That’s okay. Don’t even worry. You’re here now.”

“Do you trust me?”

“More than anything,” Beomgyu answered without any hesitation, “Always.”

“I know this isn’t the dance you wanted,” Yeonjun said quietly. His breath brushed against Beomgyu’s ear, gently reminding the younger Mage that he wasn’t an illusion. “And I know this isn’t the Ball, but will you have this dance with me?”

Beomgyu opened his eyes as he nodded.

The dance was easy to follow – Yeonjun lead the steps, moving Beomgyu alongside with him as he helped the younger Mage control the Pisces blades. When Yeonjun pushed, Beomgyu stepped back – if Yeonjun stepped back, Beomgyu stepped forward; each step glided through the attackers, easily letting them sail through the incoming attacks.

“Baby,” Yeonjun said, “I need you to put your Mana into the swords.”

And Beomgyu did what he was told. He released the Mana into the swords. The weapons immediately reacted – the blades shone brightly, glimmered with light as it looked almost transparent. With Yeonjun’s hands on his wrists again, Beomgyu let the older Mage guide the attack – his attack swiped to the right as the sword cut through the air, it released a ripple of energy that broke through the crowd of attackers. The left sword moved up and slashed downward splitting the incoming attackers. However, the right sword was driven across his chest sending a wave of energy across the split crowd of attackers.

A silence dawned on them as their current attackers fell to the ground.

Beomgyu felt Yeonjun’s hands leave him. The Celestial Mage immediately called out, “ **Pisces Gate seal**.” As the armor flickered around him and swords disappear, Beomgyu turned around immediately to look at Yeonjun. Not even the passing of a heartbeat and he put his hands on Yeonjun’s face, pulling the Prince into a kiss and another one and another one. Then, he stopped and pulled away.

Beomgyu stared at Yeonjun for a moment before he smacked the older Mage in the chest, “Don’t you ever fucking do that again, you asshole.”

Yeonjun put his hand on his chest where Beomgyu had hit him, “What the hell, Beomgyu?” Yeonjun’s protests were put to a halt when Beomgyu’s arms wrapped around his shoulders. Instinctively, Yeonjun’s arms wrapped around the younger Mage’s waist, pulling as close as he could.

“You can’t do that,” Beomgyu muttered as he buried his face against Yeonjun, “You’re never allowed to do that again without asking me first. I’m not going to allow it.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” Yeonjun said as he pressed a kiss at the top of Beomgyu’s head, “I won’t leave you again. Not like that.”

* * *

“And why exactly did we decide to the top of the Castle?” Kai asked as he, once again, was trying to keep the door shut behind them. He glared at all of the older Mages with him as he struggled to keep the door shut. Luckily, Yeonjun had tried to lend him his strength and put his weight against the door as well.

“We’re going out in style,” Beomgyu grinned as he pulled out a different Celestial Key, “ ** _Toto, release_**!”

“I hate to break it to you,” Taehyun said as he pointed at the green parrot perched on Beomgyu’s shoulder, “There is no way that your parrot is going to be able to carry us out of here. We should have just gone back down to Kai’s zombie friend.”

“Toto is going to help us,” Beomgyu insisted, “Right, Toto?” The Celestial Spirit nodded as Beomgyu pet his head with his finger. As the Celestial Mage patted the head of the parrot, he released Mana through his fingers. It surged through the little bird as it began to shift into its much larger form. Like the proud Mage that he was, Beomgyu smiled so widely as Toto’s reached its full size. Beomgyu had to reach up to hug the bird as he turned to Taehyun and grinned, “What were you saying about Toto not being able to carry us all?”

“Enough of that,” Soobin decided to stop the brewing argument, “You two can argue but let’s make sure that we’re all still alive before you start. We need to go and quick.”

* * *

Their secret rescue mission and escape would not go unnoticed by Macabre Grimoire.

“We’ll have to tell the Guild,” Soobin had told them when they arrived, “Macabre Grimoire won’t hold back after tonight, you all know this. I’ll tell the Guild tomorrow morning. They’re going to be mad but …,” Soobin frowned, “I think I know what they’re after now.” He chewed the bottom of his lip, “I’ll explain it to the Guild in the morning. Everyone needs to rest up.”

“We’ll tell them altogether,” Taehyun said as he took Soobin’s hand into his. He looked up at the older Mage, “You don’t have to take it on your own. We were all part of this.”

“You realize a war is going to break out,” Yeonjun said. He frowned, “If Macabre Grimoire aims war at the BH Guild …”

Soobin shook his head, “I don’t think they’ll move tonight. Not yet. We took out a lot of their Mages tonight. They’re not going to aim for the BH Guild, not yet. But if they do, I’ll negotiate with them.” A wave of silence washed across the five of them. Soobin cleared his throat, “For tonight, let’s go to bed. We’ll figure out what to do in the morning.”

Beomgyu woke up at an odd hour – the moon was still out, its beams trickled into his room through the cracks of the curtain. He sighed, thankful that the night was still here. The Celestial Mage turned as gently as he could, trying not to move Yeonjun’s arm around him. The pink haired Mage stirred momentarily, before he settled back into peaceful slumber. Beomgyu’s hand gently reached against his cheek. He smiled – he looked so cute that Beomgyu pressed the lightest of kisses against him.

The Celestial Mage wished that the stars would keep the morning at bay just a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, friends. 
> 
> At long last, the boys are all back together, right? We're ready for war now, right? Haha.
> 
> See ya in the next chapter.


	12. Into the Entanglement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are always two sides to the same story and sometimes, when it's uncovered, there is a pain almost too unbearable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a challenge to write. Not because I couldn't but I actually lost the original files and had to write all of it over again. 
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter.

“It’s my fault.”

Beomgyu’s eyes widened – there was veil of confusion that hung over his expression as he looked at Yeonjun. He couldn’t understand why Yeonjun was lying in front of the entirety of the BH Guild. Beomgyu gently reached for Yeonjun’s hand, tugged it to try and get his attention but the older Mage kept going.

“I’m the one who asked the four of them to come to the Castle and rescue me. I found a communication scroll to get in contact with them,” Yeonjun lied. He looked at the Guild Master, the Virtues and the rest of the Guild wish such honesty that even Beomgyu started to believe what he was saying. “I begged them to come save me but asked them to keep everything quiet. They actually said no the first time, but I kept insisting.” He looked over to Beomgyu and then back to the Guild, “I should apologize to Beomgyu for pushing him the most for this.”

Why was Yeonjun lying about this? Beomgyu’s brows furrowed.

“Hey,” Beomgyu grabbed Yeonjun’s hand as they crossed the Guildhall’s doors. Their Guild Master called a break during their meeting to sort some things out, so Beomgyu pulled Yeonjun aside from where everyone gathered, away from the noise. Once Beomgyu was sure that the two of them were alone, he let go of Yeonjun’s hand and pouted, “Why were you lying to the Guild?”

“Oh,” Yeonjun sighed with relief, “That’s what you wanted to talk about.”

“Yeah. The Guild’s like my second family,” Beomgyu frowned.

“I lied to them because if they found out you and your friends went on your own, don’t you think the consequences would be worse?” Yeonjun quirked an eyebrow at Beomgyu, “You four went into the Castle, had Soobin lie and spark interest with Macabre Grimoire, rescued a prisoner from Macabre Grimoire and beat up a bunch of their members. I’m pretty sure from their end, that looks like the BH Guild calling their bluff.”

Beomgyu’s mouth formed an obvious ‘oh’ as Yeonjun’s words went through his head. He nodded slowly and the consequences of their actions suddenly felt heavy. Beomgyu looked at Yeonjun, unsure of how to respond to him.

“With that in mind, I’m sure that the consequences could be worse for you. Possibly getting—”

“Kicked out,” Beomgyu frowned, “I didn’t even think about it. I just wanted to get you back.”

Yeonjun closed the space between them as he reached for Beomgyu’s waist. He pulled Beomgyu into a hug, holding him tightly before he said, “I know, I appreciate it.” Beomgyu returned the hug as he gently nuzzled against Yeonjun. “It’s easier if they’re mad at me because I’m not part of the Guild,” Yeonjun explained, “You’ve been talking about being part of the Guild since we first met. You worked so hard, baby. I’m not going to let anything take that away from you.”

Beomgyu’s heart beat so fast that what it was trying to tell him got lost in the speed.

“If Chronos falls, the Arcobaleno Alliance will be destroyed and the peace that our citizens have known will be destroyed,” Yeonjun explained with the air of a Prince. Beomgyu had seen Yeonjun in many forms now, but this was the first time, that he’d fully realized that Yeonjun was indeed the Crowned Prince of Chronos. “This was an Alliance we worked so hard for and for it to be lost because of the Allantrez Kingdom and Macabre Grimoire?” He shook his head, “I refuse to let that happen.”

“We have no Army now,” the King spoke with defeat.

Beomgyu easily noted that there was a difference in the fire within Yeonjun and his father; Yeonjun, who had been travelling across their country and seeing its people versus the father, who stayed behind the closed doors of a Castle – the disparity in their passion was obvious.

“Then I will fight. My life belongs to this Kingdom and its people,” Yeonjun decided without hesitation.

Beomgyu’s eyes shot up at Yeonjun – _how could he say that so easily? How could he lay his life on the line?_ _Why was he being unfair?_ The Celestial Mage shifted in his seat as he began to rise but sat back down when the Guild Master questioned the weaponized Magic that Macabre Grimoire had acquired.

“I don’t think Macabre Grimoire is on the same page as Allantrez though,” Soobin stepped into the conversation, “I think they have their own agenda and are just trying to use Allantrez’ attack to get what they want.”

“And how would you know that? How would you know what Macabre Grimoire wants?” The King asked Soobin. Soobin hesitated, stammered as he fumbled over his words. He cleared his throat to answer but Taehyun jumped into defend him, “He’s a victim of Macabre Grimoire, just like a lot of people. That Dark Guild’s history runs so deep that there are countless numbers of victims.”

Beomgyu didn’t have much input to the conversation. He sat back and tried to listen to the arguments being volleyed between the Guild. He knew of the Arcobaleno Alliance – it was seven of the strongest Kingdoms united with a treaty in order to maintain peace amongst them. Allantrez had not been part of that Alliance. At the time it had been written, the Allantrez Kingdom had barely started to build itself into a reputable Kingdom – the rumor was that they had worked with a Magic Guild (now, they knew it was a _Dark_ Guild) to raise their Kingdom to their current state. Beomgyu had no idea that Yeonjun had been sent to these other Kingdoms as a teenager to help move negotiations along with other Kingdoms and Magic Guilds; as a teenager, Beomgyu had been busy asking out his crush, getting rejected and taking Leo as his emergency date – they had such different priorities during those ages. He frowned, realizing that he had no idea how truly different they were.

There were various solutions and rebuttals being brought up in the conversation, but silence brought it down as Yeonjun’s hands slammed on the table.

“Regardless of what happens, if Chronos falls to the hands of Allantrez or Macabre Grimoire, everything I’ve worked for, everything we’ve worked for is done. Whatever peace we’ve had is over,” Yeonjun said. His eyes flickered around the room, “I can’t stand back and let my people be caught in this impending conflict. I don’t want any more motherless …parentless children in our Kingdom. I don’t want the innocent to suffer.”

 _The People’s Prince_ – Beomgyu thought as he admired Yeonjun.

* * *

The Celestial Mage had been awake at an odd hour again. This unspoken nervousness pushed an unnecessary worry into his mind: if he fell asleep first, Yeonjun might be taken away from him again.

The clock had just struck three in the morning. Beomgyu watched as Yeonjun turned his head, just a little before he caught the burn of bright flames peak through his window. The Celestial Mage forced himself out of bed and quietly made his way to the window. His fingers pulled the curtains back and the panic painted itself across his face.

“Yeonjun,” Beomgyu ran back to the bed as he put a hand on Yeonjun’s shoulder. He shook him, “Yeonjun, get up. We need to go. We have to get to the Guild.”

The older Mage turned over, grumbled something about ramen but Beomgyu couldn’t make it out.

“Yeonjun, please,” Beomgyu stressed as he shook Yeonjun’s shoulder with more force this time. “You have to get up. We need to get the Guild right away.”

As Beomgyu frantically ran through his room, Yeonjun finally woke up – he tried to rub the traces of sleep away from his eyes and if Beomgyu wasn’t so panicked at the moment, he really would have thought it was cute. Unfortunately, there was no time for that. Beomgyu reached for his pillow and threw it at Yeonjun, “Get up, pretty boy. We have to go save my Guild.”

“Hey, before you run out there,” Yeonjun called out as he finally sat up. He reached over and shook Beomgyu’s Celestial Keys, “You’re going to need these, _pretty boy_.”

The BH Guild was the target and Macabre Grimoire made sure that everyone knew it.

Whatever part of the once prestigious Guildhall that hadn’t been destroyed was danced upon by the flickering flames – the fire buried itself into the history that the Guild walls had held, engulfing the memories, the livelihood and the sacrifices that had made the legends of the BH Guild.

Beomgyu shielded his eyes with his arm as he approached the Guild. As the heat of the flames peppered his cheeks, Beomgyu squinted to see if anyone was in the building but the Mage could barely catch anything beyond the wall of fire. He quickly summoned the Celestial Spirit of Aquarius.

“You brat,” Aquarius began to scold Beomgyu but immediately shifted her attitude at the sight in front of them. The Mermaid quick summoned her waves of water to counter the rising flames. Beomgyu looked around and saw the other Mages with water abilities – Namjoon, the Water Dragon Slayer had been working alongside Taehyun, who had called out his water-based cards, to hold the rising fire back.

“Taehyun,” Beomgyu called out as he ran over to the blonde Mage, “Is everyone clear? Did everyone get out of there?”

“I don’t know,” Taehyun admitted as he continued to rely on the power of his water-based cards. He filled a card with his Mana, letting the summoning circle expand as he threw it into the flames – “ ** _Neptune’s Deep Submerge_**.” The card sailed across the air before it erupted into a spread of water; the water pumped through the air, sailed across the flames and doused them just for a moment before the fire continued to spread again.

“Are Macabre Grimoire’s members stil—” Beomgyu’s question was answered before he finished asking it. Yoongi rolled out of the center of the fire, embroiled in a fight with members of the Dark Guild – Beomgyu nearly asked why the older Mage was unharmed from the flames, but the Fire Dragon Slayer, like the others, was untouchable in their element. At the sight of the two Dragon Slayers, Beomgyu looked for _his_ Dragon Slayer and felt the panic seize when he couldn’t find him – did he get taken again by Macabre Grimoire?

The crack of lightning calmed Beomgyu’s nerves.

Yeonjun hadn’t made it to the Guild like Beomgyu had – he stayed back, within the city limits. He worked along the houses that were damaged nearby, catering to the people that had been trapped in them. Though Yeonjun was more prone to offensive maneuvers, he used his abilities to keep the Dark Mages at bay while he helped the innocent townfolk into safety.

“Beomgyu, kid, look out,” Aquarius’ voice barely made its way past the sound of fighting and the roar of the fire. She tried to reach him before a Dark Mage grabbed the Celestial Mage. “Beomgyu!” Her voice carried over to the ears of the BH Guild Mages nearby.

“Fuck, fuck,” Beomgyu cried out as he struggled to get out of the grip on him. He thrashed about, twisted and angled his body as he tried to escape and right when he thought he’d gotten freed, he felt the Dark Mage’s finger curl around his necklace. Beomgyu’s eyes widened as he tried to move the hand away from it – his Keys, with the exception of Aquarius who was already out, were all strung around the necklace. “Let go, you dick,” Beomgyu said as he tried to kick at the Dark Mage.

“A Celestial Mage and his pretty keys,” the Mage grinned, “I can break of this Chain of Attachment and take them all for me.”

“Over my dead body,” Beomgyu hissed.

“That can be arranged.”

“No, it can’t. I don’t have time die,” Beomgyu said as he began to make his way back to Aquarius. The Dark Mage roughly grabbed Beomgyu’s shoulder, gripping his fingers into his shoulder with as much force as he could. The pain in Beomgyu’s cry wasn’t hidden by the rushed sounds of violence around them. “Let me go,” Beomgyu tried to pry the Mage’s hand off his shoulder.

The clap of thunder and the harsh snap of lightning broke the Mage’s grip on Beomgyu’s shoulder.

“You okay?”

“How are you always right on time?” Beomgyu asked he massaged his shoulder, “Every single time.”

“It’s destiny, baby,” Yeonjun said as he held up his pinky, “Red string of fate, Beomgyu.”

Beomgyu narrowed his eyes at Yeonjun and pointed in a random direction, “You. Go fight over there. Don’t be flirty with me right now. Do it after.” He paused and then, for good measure, added, “Don’t be flirty with anyone else either. Just go fight over there.”

For a moment, Beomgyu had assumed that everything had been going well …but something told him he shouldn’t have sent Yeonjun to fight somewhere else. The fire was hushed by their jointed water spells. Of course, the building was stained with ruined – the Guildhall would need to be completely rebuilt, but that was a worry for the next day. Those who could fight held off the attackers.

But everything felt too smooth.

Beomgyu wondered if he was being paranoid, but something didn’t feel right to the Celestial Mage. Something wasn’t right …he could feel it in the air. There was a thickness in the air, a haze that just masked over everything – what was it? What was happening?

The fight was going on around him, he knew this but he could barely hear it now. Beomgyu walked forward, unsure of where he was going but something was calling to him. Something? _Someone_. He could hear them, they were saying his name … “What do you want?” Beomgyu asked as he continued to walk forward in a daze. “Do you need my help?” He asked as he moved forward. The Celestial Mage felt like he was being pushed forward.

“Beomgyu!” Soobin’s hand reached for his arm and pulled him back, “What are you doing?”

Beomgyu blinked a few times as he looked around. His eyes were glossed over with confusion, “What happened? Where did the voice go?”

“I didn’t think a Funeral Wreath would be here …,” Soobin frowned as he shook his head, “Don’t listen to any voices that are calling to you. We have to stop everyone from following it. The Funeral Wreath that’s here …she’s got a Siren’s voice.”

“Funeral Wreath?” Beomgyu squinted at Soobin as he shook his head, “Why does Macabre Grimoire have the corniest names? Like, first, Kai and I fought ‘ _The Ripper_ ’. Now, they have Funeral Wreaths?”

“That’s because whenever they’re in battle, their opponents end up having Funeral Wreaths delivered to them,” Soobin explained, “Don’t underestimate them because they have stupid names, Beomgyu. You literally were about to walk into a trap.”

“I was not about to walk into a trap,” Beomgyu said indignantly, “I was merely going to see what was happ—”

“Trap.”

“No.”

“Trap.”

“Shut up, Soobin,” Beomgyu stuck his tongue out at the taller Mage, “We’re in the middle of wa—”

“Beomgyu!”

The Celestial Mage wasn’t sure that anything hit him until he fell on the ground. Beomgyu rolled over, his arm wrapped around his stomach as he tried to get off the ground. He groaned in pain as he struggled to get up but as he slowly rose, something kicked him down. Once again, Beomgyu felt someone tug on the necklace holding his Celestial Keys.

“Get your hands off that,” Beomgyu commanded as he tried to remove the hands on his necklace, “Those are mine. You can’t have them. They’re my fre—”

“Oops,” the voice giggled as they jumped on Beomgyu’s back. They stepped on the Mage, holding him down from squirming. Their finger traced Beomgyu’s necklace until they found the latch and there was a phrase muttered in a language Beomgyu had never heard before the Chain of Attachment disappeared. “The Chain of Attachment doesn’t work against Ancient magic after all,” they giggled again.

Beomgyu scrambled to grab all of his Keys, making sure they were all with him. Aquarius was out already; he had Leo, Pisces, Aries, Puma and Tokei … “Gemini?” Beomgyu asked as he tried to feel for the Key, “Gemini?”

“Looks like Gemini is _mine_ now,” the voice said as they dangled the Key in front of Beomgyu. With a cackle that Beomgyu could never forget, the Mage stood up on his back and clapped their hands before they jumped off. “Sorry, Celestial Mage, the Gemini twins belong to **_me_ **now.”

And Beomgyu lost it.

He scrambled to his feet as fast as he could, searching for the Dark Mage that had stolen his Key. _Where did they go? Where are they?_ He didn’t see them, so he didn’t know what they looked like – he could only remember the cackle of their laugh and the smarmy feel of their voice.

“No, no,” Beomgyu felt his heart drop as he ran through the fighting. He tried to hear their voice, but he couldn’t. Not anymore. Beomgyu’s run through the crowd slowed down as he felt his vision blur; he knew he was crying now. How could he lose Gemini? How could he lose them just like that? “Where are they? Gemini,” Beomgyu cried out as he frantically tried to listen for the familiar voice. He ran through the Mage, past the fighting until he couldn’t anymore. “No,” he felt the word catch in his throat. How could he lose Gemini?

The Celestial Mage held all of his Keys in his hand as he cried into them. If one of the Dark Mages struck at him now, Beomgyu would have accepted it – he failed at protecting his Celestial Spirits.

“There you are. Don’t run off like that again.”

Beomgyu looked up, tears painted their trails across his face as he cried, “Yeonjun, I lost them. They took Gemini. Macabre Grimoire took Gemini.”

* * *

Winning was not the focus of this attack – a message was sent to the BH Guild.

The damage to the Guild was emphasized when the morning’s light broke through the night sky. The members of the Guild had all survived – Soobin was quickly working on the minor injuries that many had received. The bulk of the attack was on the Guild itself – a warning that Macabre Grimoire was not afraid to engage in battle when pushed.

Beomgyu had no strength within him. He struggled to stand up and look at what lay in front of him. The Celestial Mage leaned against Yeonjun for support – Gemini was taken from him.

There was silence amongst them all as they stood in the ruins of what was once their second home. Amidst the hushed whispers, their Guild Master walked to the center of the group. He stood up and looked at the members slowly before he decided, “I am calling for the disbandment of the BH Guild.” The protests began immediately, each person argued that they shouldn’t disband, especially right now. He rose a hand to silence them, “ _Temporary_ disbandment. Let them believe they’ve scared away before we make our move. We’ll return here in the day of the Virtue.”

And just like, the BH Guild had disbanded.

Until the day of the Virtue – two weeks at 6:13pm.

* * *

“I don’t understand,” Beomgyu put his hands over his face as he walked beside Yeonjun. He shouted toward Hueningkai, “I don’t understand why we are looking for a Sea Cow to begin with. Why do we need a Sea Cow? I can’t stand Sea Cows and they can’t stand me.” Yeonjun rose an eyebrow at Beomgyu but Beomgyu chose to ignore that. He didn’t feel the need to explain his past near-death experience with the Sea Cow.

“Because we can’t go to my village,” Taehyun snapped at Beomgyu, “Considering that we couldn’t handle the Zombie from the Castle, I don’t think we’d fare well with the Ghosts I live with.”

Beomgyu couldn’t tell if Taehyun was joking. Instead, he chose to focus his attention on something else. He turned to Yeonjun, “Why is there a Zombie in the Castle Graveyard?”

“Oh,” Yeonjun shrugged and just said, “He likes it there.”

“What?”

“He does, _but_ it was a failed attempt a resurrection. My father thought he could summon something back from the dead and became the prime example of “ _Why people who are untrained in Magic should not attempt to do Magic alone_ ”,” Yeonjun explained, “Then, we got attached to the Zombie and now, he protects the Graveyard from Graverobbers.”

Beomgyu stopped walking as he stared at Yeonjun. How could someone say that so normally when nothing about that situation was normal?

“Ah,” Kai said as he stopped walking. He pointed to where the sea met the land, “This is it. It should be here soon. Just give it a few minutes.”

“What’s going to be here?” Beomgyu asked.

“Ahhh, it’s cute!” Soobin squealed as he pushed past all of the boys to get closer to the sea. He stood at the edge of the water and pointed at the approaching figure, “The Sea Cow. It’s so cute.”

“Except that’s not a regular Sea Cow …,” Kai started before he explained, “My home village is Ushi.” He pointed at the top of the Sea Cow, “It’s on top of that Sea cow.”

Beomgyu’s mouth dropped as the Sea Cow approached them. If the Sea Cow that he and Soobin had met earlier scared The Celestial Mage, this one was even bigger than that – this Sea Cow looked like its own small continent.

“So, that’s where Ushi is,” Yeonjun said, “I was looking for a few years ago and I could never find it. It makes sense though, since it’s moving around.” He looked over at Kai before he nodded, “I should have guessed you were from the Village of the Beasts since you have the Beast Soul.”

“Yep,” Kai grinned, “And, Macabre Grimoire won’t be able to track us easily up there.”

Beomgyu pointed at the Sea Cow, “I am not climbing up there. I **refuse**.”

“Because you’re scared?” Taehyun said as he walked past Beomgyu. “We can leave you here,” Taehyun turned his head toward Beomgyu and smirked as he walked over to where Soobin was admiring the Sea Cow.

“I’m not scared. I just refuse to climb on a Sea Cow,” Beomgyu huffed in annoyance. The constant insistence that the Sea Cow was harmless made no sense to Beomgyu – he was bitten by it and the last thing he needed was to climb on top of a giant one. There had to be a different place they could go to. Beomgyu frowned as he watched his friends clamor to the edge of the water, waiting for the Sea Cow to get close. He folded his arms over his chest.

“Come on, let’s go,” Yeonjun said as he walked past Beomgyu toward the rest of the group.

“Not you too,” Beomgyu whined and stood in place until Yeonjun grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the Sea Cow. He groaned as he realized that there was no choice but to climb up the Sea Cow.

It was as if the Sea Cow knew about Beomgyu’s history with the baby one because the moment it was Beomgyu’s turn to climb up, the Sea Cow moved causing Beomgyu to slip and fall into the water. Beomgyu sighed and looked up, just in time to see Taehyun looking back at him.

“ **Lame** ,” Taehyun said before he continued to climb.

It just had to be a Sea Cow, didn’t it?

* * *

Yeonjun had called it the Village of the Beasts, but Beomgyu would have called it a very old, very abandoned looking Village of Ruins.

Their group made it to the top of the Sea Cow – every single time Beomgyu slipped at the Sea Cow’s movements, Taehyun smirked and reminded him that he was “ _Lame_ ” – and was greeted by thick forestry that overtook the ruins of what once could have been a bustling village. There were ghosts of architecture brushed over by overgrown vines and unattended flora. The carved path was weathered with dirt and water – Beomgyu tried his best to maintain his footing, but every so often, his expression would flatten at the squish of mud.

“Kai,” Beomgyu called out to the younger Mage, “I know you’re excited to come back to your home, but this place looks like it’s been abandoned for years.”

Kai looked at Beomgyu and let out a small laugh, “I know. That’s the beauty of it. Because it looks abandoned, no one really wanders here. They kind of …go elsewhere.” The Beast Mage grinned as he looked around. He took in a deep breath and excitedly said, “Everyone’s on their way here soon. They seem like they’re in a hur—”

“ **GET DOWN** ,” The Dragon Slayer warned as he rushed over to Beomgyu’s side. He gently pushed the Celestial Mage’s head down, narrowly avoiding a kick to the head.

“What the he—,” Beomgyu began to ask before he brought his arms over his face to avoid the punch of a …bear? The shock on his face lasted for a second before he ducked down again. Why were animals fighting? He looked over at Yeonjun who was about to fist fight a …tiger? Then at Taehyun who trying to block his head from the pecks of …eagles? Soobin, on the other hand, was the one chasing the rabbits – he exclaimed something about how cute the giant rabbits were and was in the middle of trying to hug them.

“Stop, stop!” Kai tried to calm the attack, but his attempt was masked by the roars of the incoming animal attackers. The Beast Soul user growled as he shifted into a beast form – he shoved the bear that had been attacking Beomgyu, growled at it in the language they seemed to understand. At Kai’s growls, the animals withdrew from their attacks and slowly shifted into humans – Kai followed the same.

“Kai’s home!” One of the villagers cried out before they rang into a bright cheer, immediately running to hug him and welcome his return. There were apologies being given to them from the villagers, all of which were accepted – “With Macabre Grimoire’s attacks, we were worried you were all members of it …but we’re happy to know that you’re Kai’s friends and Kai’s friends are always welcomed here.”

  
  


The Village of the Beasts, as it turns out, was above them the entire time.

Homes filled with families and friends lined the treetops with bright smiles. The trees were adorned with homes built from the resources of their land, decorated with the lovely materials that the Earth had brought to them. According to Kai, their philosophy was to never take more than they needed and always return double of what they took – that explains the overgrown foliage across the village beneath them.

The people of this village reminded Beomgyu of Kai – they radiated the same positive warmth and care that the younger Mage had always shared with them. As he listened to the conversations, Beomgyu realized why Kai was the way he was and that made the Celestial Mage smile.

* * *

There were many things in this world that Beomgyu realized he would never understand, such as the fact that there was a Sea Cow big enough to carry an entire continent on its back. Not just an entire continent but an entire civilization of Beast Soul users.

“ _Don’t expect like modern city accommodations,” Kai had told them, “Everyone here is very simple. We live with nature and only use what we need_.”

Beomgyu set his bag down on the small wooden table. He looked around the room (everything was built from scratch and carved out of wood; the bed was smaller and less comfortable than Beomgyu’s) and then over at Yeonjun, “Is your highness going to be okay sleeping here?”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “I’ll be fine. Is the Great and Handsome Beomgyu going to be okay being on top of a Sea Cow?” Beomgyu looked away and frowned. Yeonjun laughed, “What happened with the Sea Cow to make you hate them this much?”

“I don’t hate them. Soobin made them attack me. I literally got bit by a Sea Co—”

“Sea Cows are known to be peaceful creatures, Beomgyu. You’re the first person I’ve ever heard of that got bit by one,” Yeonjun said as he sat on the bed.

Beomgyu hadn’t realized how natural it became for him to share a bed with Yeonjun. Neither of them ever spoke about it or brought it up, it just became part of their routine now. It just felt natural and Beomgyu liked that. He hadn’t noticed the smile grow on his face. These were the moments that Beomgyu loved the most.

The Celestial Mage couldn’t sleep. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the Sea Cow’s movements, or something else, but he could not sleep. He sat up in the bed and ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. There was an energy in this place that called him, but he couldn’t figure it out. His restlessness was so rampant that at this point, Yeonjun woke up.

“Why don’t we follow it then?” Yeonjun suggested with a yawn, “Let’s just follow whatever’s calling you and then after, we can go to sleep. If it turns into a fight, we can use it to train you with the Star Armor.”

“Okay …,” Beomgyu looked out of the window, “I wonder what it is.”

“We won’t know until we go find it, right? If we don’t go, you won’t sleep,” Yeonjun pointed out, “Let’s just find it and then we can finally rest.”

When Yeonjun had suggested that Beomgyu follow what had been calling out to him, he never expected to be led into this situation. He stared opened eyed, mouth agape for a moment before he brought his hand to cover his face. The pink-haired Mage shook his head slowly, unsure of how to react except to sigh. By now, this should not have surprised him – Beomgyu’s unpredictable nature during these times should have been anticipated by now and yet, Yeonjun had no idea how to respond.

“Well,” the sound of gravel shifting masked the exasperation from the Celestial Spirit of the Lion. The Spirit put a hand in his pocket as he nodded, “He _is_ your boyfriend. You should go save him.”

The Dragon Slayer scoffed as he stared at Leo incredulously, “Suddenly, you’re admitting that he’s my boyfriend. He was _your_ Mage first.”

“Except, he’s _your_ boyfriend now. You should go in first,” Leo gestured for Yeonjun to jump in. Then pulled his hand back at the bellowing sound of the Sea Cows below. “No, no. I insist, you should go first. You _are_ his boyfriend.”

“I am, but _you_ are his trusted Spirit. You can go first.”

“You’re his boyfriend and you’ve dreamt about marrying him. With three kids – I’m sure your twins and baby will be upset you don’t save their dad. You should go first, I insist. Consider it husband practice, because we both know that this isn’t the last time Beomgyu will do this.”

Yeonjun let out a heavy sigh as he walked over to the edge – bits of gravel rolled off the ledge, dropping into the water below them. He peered over, trying to see where his boyfriend managed to jump into before he sighed. He muttered, “It had to be fucking sea cows.”

There were many questions Yeonjun had starting with, “ _Why was there an area on the giant Sea Cow where there were smaller baby Sea Cows swimming around at_?” and ending with, “ _Why did Beomgyu have to dive head first over the edge of the cliff and into where all the baby Sea Cows swimming around in?_ ”

“So, are you going to do it?” Leo asked Yeonjun once more, “I know Beomgyu summoned me but I’m really not in the mood to deal with Sea Cows. Besides, you’re lightning. You can literally go ‘pew-pew’ with your electricity and take care of them.”

“I’m not going to shoot lightning down there when Beomgyu is literally swimming around down there,” Yeonjun sighed and gave up. He took a few steps back before he leapt off the edge of the cliff to where Beomgyu had gone.

“Beomgyu,” Yeonjun called out once he’d stabilized himself in the water. He kicked his feet and moved his arms to stay afloat, “Beomgyu, where are you?”

The Celestial Mage’s head popped out of the water, surprised to see Yeonjun in the water too. He smiled and said, “I found what was calling me. There’s a Zodiac Key down there, Yeonjun. It’s Taurus, but I can’t reach it.”

“You can hear Zodiac keys?”

Beomgyu shrugged at the question before he asked, “Do you think you can reach it? It’s really far down there. The Sea Cows keep moving around and it makes it hard to see down there.”

And that was how Yeonjun, the current Crowned Prince of Chronos, swam under the rampaging Sea Cows to try and acquire a Zodiac Key for his Celestial Mage boyfriend. The situation would have made the Prince laugh had he not been holding his breath underwater. He looked over to Beomgyu who swam toward the lowest part of the water – the Celestial Mage pointed at an area and Yeonjun tried to swim over, but a Sea Cow swam between them.

There was no way that Yeonjun could have used his lightning in the water, not without hurting Beomgyu. So, he had to attempt to fist fight this baby Sea Cow but the Prince had never been trained to fight underwater. He looked over at Beomgyu and signaled for the Celestial Mage to swim down while he distract the Sea Cows.

Of course, that was easier said than done.

Had they been above water, Yeonjun could have easily taken this creature. He’d fought creatures much bigger than this and won – he _is_ a Dragon Slayer, after all. However, fighting underwater was a different issue. The Sea Cows were fast – they swam circles around Yeonjun, almost as if they were creating a vortex around him. After they swam their circles, they started heading toward him, ready to ram into him. Yeonjun swam as much as he could to avoid them, but missed the attack of one. With the Sea Cow headed right at him, Yeonjun held his hands out to push it back – the Sea Cow’s head pressed against his hands and Yeonjun smirked.

He wasn’t able to let out large attacks, but short ranged ones should be doable.

Yeonjun pulsed the lightning from his hands into the Sea Cow. The subtle strike of lightning placed on the Sea Cow’s head was just enough voltage to temporarily stun the Sea Cow. Yeonjun angled himself to face the other Sea Cows – even without a single word spoken, they knew they were in trouble.

* * *

Water sprayed everywhere as Beomgyu ruffled his own hair.

“I can’t believe you fought off all of those Sea Cows,” Beomgyu laughed as he reached over to brush Yeonjun’s hair out of the way. He grinned boldly at the older Mage, “You really can’t say no to me, can you, Yeonjun? It’s like I’m your weakness or something.”

“Yeah …,” Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “I couldn’t let you be eaten by Sea Cows again.”

“I wasn’t eaten by Sea Cows. I was _bitten_! Plus, it wasn’t even my fault. Soobin’s the one who pissed them off,” Beomgyu pouted in protest, “For once, I wasn’t the one who caused it to happen.”

Yeonjun nodded as he took his jacket off and attempted to wring out the water. He squeezed as much as he could before he hung it on a low hanging branch. He looked over at Beomgyu and suggested, “I’ll build a fire so we can dry our clothes. You should make your contract with the Key. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He paused and stared at Beomgyu before he pointed, “Don’t wander off this time. Don’t dive into more Sea Cows.”

Beomgyu smiled sweetly as he flipped Yeonjun off – Yeonjun blew him a kiss before he headed out to collect firewood. There was a Zodiac Key calling him, he couldn’t avoid it …but he was trying to listen for Gemini’s call. He needed to get the Gemini Twins back as soon as he could. Their battle with Macabre Grimoire was going to be decisive of many things.

“O Key of Taurus,” Beomgyu began the incantation, “I offer you the Mana to open this door, please release the Spirit of Taurus to this world. Please unseal and release it.”

When the door unlocked and light faded, a tall, stylish dark-haired man appeared in front of Beomgyu – he had horns peering out from his messy hair and a grin on his face. His green eyes glinted with excitement as he realized who he was in front of. In an instant, his fingers curled around Beomgyu’s chin, tilting his head upward as he finally said, “So, it’s finally my turn to meet the famed Beomgyu.”

Beomgyu’s cheeks filled with blush as he realized how close this Spirit was. He sputtered out an attempt to push the Spirit away but the proximity of this Spirit’s beautiful face causing Beomgyu to get flustered. The Spirit place its free hand on the small of Beomgyu’s back and grinned at him.

It took a few minutes for Beomgyu to break the flustered paralysis that he had gotten himself into. This was a probably the most awful situation that his boyfriend could have gotten himself into and right now, Beomgyu wasn't sure that he could have a better explanation for this other than this new Spirit was definitely much bolder than Leo. Beomgyu pushed Taurus away and scolded, "Don't do that. I have a boyfriend, thank you very much."

"You're the one that called me," Taurus said as he grinned toward the Celestial Mage. "And for good reason, I'm the best choice you could have made tonight."

"Uh-uh," Leo had finally caught up to where they had been. The Spirit of the Lion stepped between the pair and poked Taurus in the chest, "You are not allowed to touch, Beomie. Beomie's mine and I'm not letting you get anywhere with him."

"Oh, Leo," Taurus said as he looked from Leo but smiled at Beomgyu, "Beomie is such a good nickname for you. I can't wait to use it more often.

Beomgyu stared at the two Spirits as he smacked his own forehead. The Celestial Mage knew that there were different types of Spirits and each Spirit had their own personalities, but why did he have to have the two most obnoxiously forward Spirits in front of him at the moment. He let out an exasperated sigh as he finally said, "I have a boyfriend."

"He's not important," Leo said as he turned his attention back to Taurus, "You leave Beomgyu alone. I'm his most loyal Spirit. You're not going to take that position."

"I can take whatever position Beomie will want," Taurus said as he side-stepped away from Leo and took Beomgyu's hands into his. He pressed a kiss against Beomgyu's hand and said, "I will be your loyal servant, Master Beomie. I will do anything you need me to."

"... what the hel--," Yeonjun had walked in a very inconvenient moment. The Dragon Slayer quirked an eyebrow at Leo and then at Beomgyu before his eyes finally settled on the new figure kissing Beomgyu's hands. "Beomgyu, who is this?"

"I'm Beomgyu's loyal servant," the Spirit said as he grinned at Yeonjun, "I'm Tau--"

"Leaving," Leo said as he shoved Taurus away, "You're leaving. That's what you're doing. It's bad enough that I have to fight that pink-thing for Beomgyu's attention. I don't need to fight you too."

Beomgyu sighed once more before he took both the keys of Leo and Taurus. He lifted them in the air and said, "Leo gate, seal. Taurus gate, seal." It was bad enough to have to deal with Leo constantly fighting with Yeonjun, the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with another Spirit fighting with his boyfriend. He brought his hand to his temple as he rubbed the newly formed headache away. "That was Taurus," Beomgyu finally said to Yeonjun, "He's the new Spirit that we got."

"Oh ...," was all the response that Beomgyu had received from Yeonjun. The Dragon Slayer quickly busied himself into building the fire he had mentioned earlier. That was not a response that Beomgyu liked.

"Yeonjun," Beomgyu frowned as he walked next to him. Still, the Prince gave him no response and continued to work on the fire. Beomgyu pouted and asked, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," Yeonjun said flatly and Beomgyu still did not like that response. In fact, Beomgyu didn't like this sudden shift in Yeonjun's air at the moment. The Celestial Mage glared at his boyfriend's head and asked again, "Are you mad at Leo and Taurus?"

"No."

"I thought you'd be used to Leo already," Beomgyu grumbled with frustration. He folded his hands over his chest and asked, "Was it Taurus?"

"Why was he kissing your hands?" Yeonjun finally asked as he turned to face Beomgyu. The expression on his face was one of muted jealousy and Beomgyu had to bite back the smile that grew on his face - so, the Prince was the jealous type, huh? Yeonjun shook his head and muttered, "You have all these Spirit suitors that can come out of nowhere, at your beck and call and I don't know how I'm sup--"

"Yeonjun," Beomgyu giggled, "Are you jealous of my Celestial Spirits?"

Yeonjun rolled his eyes as he returned his attention back to the fire. For all the frustration that Yeonjun had at the moment, Beomgyu found himself enjoying this very childish, very jealous side of the Prince - it turns out that the Dragon Slayer really liked him and that made Beomgyu incredibly happy.

* * *

“I feel like this is the first time in awhile that it’s been just the two of us,” Taehyun said as he walked next to Soobin. He stood next to where the older Mage had been leaning against the railing and followed his gaze. The stars looked surreal at this time. He gently placed his hand on Soobin’s, “Are you okay? You’re not going to say it but it feels like you’ve been stuck in your head again.”

Soobin looked over at Taehyun, surprised that the younger Mage brought that up. Then again, Taehyun had always been the most perceptive person that he’d met. He nodded, “I’ve just been thinking a lot about everything, you know? Especially since it involves Macabre Grimoire.” Just saying the name made him frown.

“You honestly have to stop blaming yourself for that, Soobin,” Taehyun shook his head, “I already told you, it’s not your fault. Whatever happened during that time, it wasn't your fault.”

Taehyun’s words were meant to comfort him but Soobin knew that words could never magically erase the guilt that he carried. Most days, he was okay with it but lately, he felt like the weight was becoming too unbearable. He looked away from Taehyun, his eyes blanked at the stars above them – those stars were lucky, they weren’t tied down to this heaviness in his heart.

"I know and I'm trying, Taehyunnie," Soobin said as he moved his hand to slowly lace with Taehyun's. He sighed and said, "It's just when we were at the Castle, the Guild Master of Macabre ...," he shook his head with a frown, "He reminded me of something that I tried my best to forget ..."

* * *

"So," Beomgyu said as he said as he settled himself against Yeonjun, placing his head on the older Mage's chest. If Beomgyu was asked, this really was a romantic scene they'd finally gotten themselves into: after Yeonjun built the fire, they had stripped down to their underwear to let their clothes hang and dry and Beomgyu, who wasn't really as cold as he said he was, kept shivering until Yeonjun hugged him. He turned his head to look up at the older Mage, "Are you going to admit that you were jealous for nothing?"

"I like you a lot, Beomgyu," Yeonjun replied to him and said, "Of course, I get jealous. You don't realize how gorgeous you are or how easily people can get attached to you."

"You don't have anything to worry about, YJ," Beomgyu smiled up at him, "I'm not interested in anyone else."

Despite the impending situation they were headed toward, there was a calmness in this that Beomgyu enjoyed. He felt safe. Yeonjun's arms made him feel safe, like everything would alright.

"Hey, Yeonjun," Beomgyu asked as he traced letters across Yeonjun's chest, "Can you tell me about yourself?" He felt the heat in his cheeks rise at the end of the question, "Um, only if you want to. You don't have to ...I just want to know more about you. I always want to know more."

"Um," Yeonjun paused for a moment before he let out a soft laugh and said, "You know, I wasn't able to do Magic in the beginning. For a good ten years, I actually couldn't do Magic at all. Even how hard I tried, I wasn't able to."

Beomgyu blinked up at Yeonjun and scoffed, "That doesn't sound right. Have you seen the way you do Magic? You're incredible, Yeonjun. What do you mean you weren't able to do Magic before?"

Yeonjun shook his head and said, "Exactly that. I wasn't able to do Magic before." He laughed and said, "Actually, if we're being honest, I don't think anyone expected me to be good at Magic, period. My mom insisted on fixing that."

"Your mom?"

"Yeah," Yeonjun nodded, "She was a Celestial Mage, like you. She was also a skilled illusionist too. My mom was the Celestial Mage that lived in the Castle, that's why we had all those scrolls for Celestial Mages."

Taehyun had mentioned that during their library raid and Beomgyu hadn't thought much about it. It made sense now why those scrolls were present. "You're still looking for her, huh? Can I help you?"

"I think Macabre has her," Yeonjun admitted.

"Why?"

Yeonjun looked up before he closed his eyes. He sighed and said, "I wasn't able to do Magic and mom want to fix that. I don't remember much about that time except that we actually left the country for a little bit. Mom mentioned there was someone who was able to mix Magic and science and she wanted to go there see if they could help me …now that I really think about it, it was Macabre Grimoire’s Mages that she was referring to," Yeonjun shook his head and said, "I don't remember all the details except that I met this boy there. He must have been younger than me but just by a little bit ..."

* * *

"I think the boy came with his mom," Soobin explained to Taehyun. He kept his gaze at the stars as he continued, "He was older than me, I think. I don't remember his name, just that he couldn't do Magic at the time."

Taehyun looked over at Soobin. There was a sense of unsureness in his expression. He tilted his head to the side and asked, "You met someone that couldn't do Magic?"

"His mom could do Magic, I remember that," Soobin continued, "Macabre was obsessed with her abilities because her Mana was so vast." The blue-haired Mage frowned for a moment, "I don't remember too much of what was said. I just remember that they had taken the boy to an operation room and they fixed him. They put something in him so that he could have Mana, so that he could do Magic."

"Macabre can do that?"

Soobin nodded at Taehyun, "They spent a lot of time trying to find ways to transfer Mana or steal it if they needed." The amount of crimes that Macabre Grimoire did couldn't be counted, even if Soobin tried. He looked over at Taehyun, "It took some time before the boy returned and he was so small. So scared when he came back. I don't know what they did to him, but he had Mana after that."

Taehyun didn't have a verbal response. His fingers just held onto Soobin's, squeezing their hands a little tighter as he nodded. Soobin took as a cue to keep going.

"I just remember that at one point, his mom came back for a few hours ..."

* * *

"My mom kept coming in and out of where we were. I think they were using her for something," Yeonjun explained. His expression twisted as he tried to recall his memories, "I don't remember seeing her much during that time. I just remember that they would take me and bring me to a doctor to fix my Mana." He shook his head, "I wish I could tell you what they did but I don't remember any of that."

"It's okay," Beomgyu tried to calm Yeonjun's frustration, "What happened with your mom?"

"That's the thing, I don't know. I just remember that they would take her from time to time. Every single time she came back, she'd look so tired," Yeonjun's eyes focused on the sky. The brightly lit stars reflected against his eyes - Beomgyu thought Yeonjun's eyes were even more beautiful than the stars above them, even when they were veiled with sadness. "She would come back and tell me she loved me and then, she would just cry."

"Yeonjun ...," Beomgyu hugged the older Mage just a little tighter.

"And then at one point, they took that little boy I met with them. He and my mom left together ...,"

* * *

"They took us both to a room away from everyone," Soobin's lips twisted as he tried to recall the situation, "They forced her to lay down on the table. She was crying, I remember that. I remember walking next to her and seeing her face and telling her that she shouldn't cry." He frowned at that, "I was so stupid."

"You didn't know, Soobin."

"I thought I was helping her at the time."

"Macabre twisted it."

Soobin sighed as he shook his head, "She asked me if I met her son and I said that I did. I told her that he was okay and that the doctors fixed him. God, she smiled so wide when I said that. She was so happy just to know that her son was okay." Soobin could feel his vision start to blur as he continued, "She asked if she could see her son again and I didn't know the answer. She said she just wanted to see him again."

At this point, Soobin could feel himself crying already.

"She didn't," Soobin forced the words out, nearly choking on them as he said it. "They told me that she was having trouble sleeping, that she was so distraught with problems and they asked me to help put her to sleep ..."

* * *

"And then she just stopped coming back," Yeonjun said as he looked away. He felt the tears threaten to show before he shook his head, "I don't remember much else after that. I think, I was stuck in that room for a little bit before someone came to take us out. They took everyone out, even the little boy I met."

"Oh," Beomgyu wasn't sure how to respond to the story. His heart hurt for Yeonjun.

"I remember wandering around for a bit, by myself and then my step-mother found me," Yeonjun said. He shook his head and frowned, "That's how she was able to marry my father because she claimed she rescued me from Macabre, but that wasn't the case."

Beomgyu tilted his head to the side. He knew Yeonjun was telling his story but the Celestial Mage found it a little too convenient that Yeonjun's step-mother had been there to rescue him so quickly. He decided not to say anything yet and let the Prince continue.

"After that, I never saw my mom again," Yeonjun said, "But I swear, she's not dead. I could still feel her energy. Like, I can still feel her Mana in the air. It's always the strongest whenever we get near Macabre. So, I'm sure they still have her there." He let out a soft breath and said, "I know, it's ridiculous to hold on to that hope, especially since I don't even know if she's still there ..."

"No, I don't think it's dumb. I think it's admirable to keep hoping. It just shows how much you love your mom," Beomgyu insisted.

* * *

"She loved her son so much," Soobin said, "I remember that much. I was jealous, just a little bit but she loved him so dearly." He looked away from Taehyun and sighed, "I just ...I didn't know that putting her to sleep was how Macabre Grimoire stole her Mana." He shook his head, "I didn't even know that she was a Celestial Mage."

"They tricked you," Taehyun said as he let go of Soobin's hand. He put his hands on Soobin's cheeks, forcing the older Mage to look at him, "You didn't know any better. You were just a kid."

"I know but I wish I could find her son and apologize to him," Soobin said as he put his arms around Taehyun's waist, "I just want to make amends. I want to help her son somehow."

"I'll help you find him," Taehyun said, "I told you before, you don't have to do this alone anymore, Soobin. You never have to be alone again."

* * *

"Yeonjun, I'm sorry ...," Beomgyu said as he hugged Yeonjun even tighter than before. In all honesty, there wasn't much that Beomgyu thought he could say to make Yeonjun feel better. The older Mage had gone through more than what Beomgyu could have even fathomed but if anything, it showed the strength of the Prince.

"It's okay," Yeonjun responded with a heavy sigh, "I mean, if we're being honest, it's not like anyone expected me to be alive this long. My mom was the only one who fought for it. My dad probably was waiting for me to die."

Beomgyu sat up from where he'd lay and stare down at Yeonjun. His brows creased in frustration as his eyes searched his boyfriend's face for any sign of a lie, but Yeonjun wasn't lying. Beomgyu's bottom lip jutted out into a pout, "What are you talking about?"

"Here, I'll show you," Yeonjun said as he brushed his hand over his own torso, "Circle reveal." Beomgyu's eyes watched as three Casting Circles formed across Yeonjun's torso. Even with an untrained eye, it was easy to see that those circles were older - these were Casting Circles looked like they'd been open for a long time.

"What are these?" Beomgyu asked as his hands instinctively reached for the Casting Circles.

"My mom wasn't just a Celestial Mage," Yeonjun explained, "She was also a skilled illusionist." He paused and said, "My dad thought I was going to die when I was born. I was missing," Yeonjun's hand moved to each Casting Circle as he spoke, "A kidney, one of my lungs and my heart," he ended with his hand on his heart.

Beomgyu stared at Yeonjun in disbelief, "How ..."

"Magic," Yeonjun answered, "My mom was a skilled illusionist, and her illusions are so strong that she was able to trick my body into thinking they're real. It feels like a real heart and beats like a real one." He looked up at Beomgyu, "When she disappeared, I had to learn how to do the same." He frowned, "I kept messing up at first and my dad thought I was going to die, but I felt my mom's Mana around me. She kept pushing me to get better at casting these illusions. That's how I know she's still alive."

"I think she's still alive too," Beomgyu said quietly. All of the things that Beomgyu heard made his heartache - he couldn't imagine the pain that Yeonjun had been holding to for so long and by himself too. This time, Beomgyu could feel his heartbeat but he knew what his heart was telling him about the older Mage.

Yeonjun paused, "I'm sorry." He looked away and said, "I know, that was a lot and thinking that your boyfriend doesn't even have a hea--"

Beomgyu shook his head, "That part doesn't matter because this one," he took Yeonjun's hand and brought up to his own chest, "My heart belongs to you." He leaned in gently as he kissed Yeonjun.

For everything that had come to pass and everything that will, Beomgyu wanted to make sure that Yeonjun knew that he wasn't alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for making it to the end of this chapter. I appreciate you all for making it through this one because this one hurt my heart to write.
> 
> I'll see you next time for Chapter 13.  
> Please prepare yourselves for that one as well.
> 
> Love ya. Appreciate ya!  
> See ya next time.


	13. Into the Dying Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All's fair in love and war, isn't it?

Beomgyu decided that he was _never_ going to train with Yeonjun again.

There were two weeks until the hour of the Virtue and the Celestial Mage had made the mistake of asking the Prince to teach him how to fight using weapons. Since Yeonjun was the Prince, he had been trained in combat for years. Initially Beomgyu thought that he was a perfect choice to teach him techniques in weapons training …except after the first hour, Beomgyu could not focus on how to swing the sword properly and was more concerned on why Yeonjun’s lips looked the way they did in the sunlight.

As much fun as Beomgyu had that day, there wasn’t much time to get better at weapons handling – he had to painfully turn away the Dragon Slayer as he trainer for the time being.

The Celestial Mage knew he had two things to work on: 1. Fighting with weapons and 2. Summoning more than one Celestial Spirit for long periods of time.

And that was how Beomgyu began his very intense training session with his latest Zodiac Spirit, Taurus.

“I’m going to _kiss_ you if you don’t focus,” Taurus threatened Beomgyu as he swung his axe over his shoulder. Beomgyu’s face scrunched in annoyance while Taurus continued to scold him, “If you’re holding back during combat training with me, how are you supposed to be able to hold your own when you’re faced against the members of Macabre Grimoire?”

Beomgyu grumbled something under his breath as he glared at the Spirit of the Bull from the ground. The Celestial Mage donned the Star Armor of Leo: stylishly, sleek chainmail fastened around him with the flair that his Spirit of the Lion always carried – light, but durable armor for quick movements to match Leo’s fight style; his weapon was a broadsword with the head of the lion at the hilt of it.

"You're wearing the Leo Armor, but you clearly have a lot to learn," Taurus said as he walked toward the fallen Celestial Mage. He dropped the battle axe he wielded, letting it drop to the ground with a heavy thud as he looked at his Mage. "Unfortunately, as a Celestial Mage, you have to be a Jack of All Trades," Taurus as he released the handle of the axe. He held a hand out in front of Beomgyu, "And I know you'll be fine since your reputation in the Celestial Realm is pretty extraordinary."

"My reputation in the Celestial Realm?" Beomgyu raised an eyebrow as he took Taurus' hand. He pulled himself up and dusted himself off, "And what is my reputation in the Celestial Realm, Taurus?"

"You're the Mage that all the Celestial Spirits want," Taurus grinned as he raised his eyebrows at Beomgyu, "In more ways than one, if we're being honest."

Beomgyu made an 'X' with his fingers and reminded Taurus, again, "I have a boyfriend that I adore with my whole heart, thank you very much." The Celestial Mage rolled his eyes and sighed before he quietly asked, "... have you heard from Gemini in the Celestial Realm?"

Taurus shook his head and frowned, "They're radio silent at the moment, Beomie. I'm sorry. I know Leo and Aries were trying to get in touch with them, but we've got no response yet." The Spirit noted the forlorn expression on his Mage before he put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry. When we get the chance to face Macabre Grimoire, we'll be right there with you to kick their asses. Besides, you need to see me in action, Beomie. You might just fall in love with me."

“Good luck, Leo’s been trying since we made our contract,” Beomgyu laughed.

That was one of the parts about being a Celestial Mage that Beomgyu loved: loneliness had never been a factor that picked apart his mind. Growing up, there had been times that Beomgyu was unsure of where he stood with his friends - many of them would say they were close but often push him away when it was no longer convenient to have him there. However, with his Celestial Spirits, he knew where they stood and knew what he would do for them. A smile played upon his lips as he looked over at Taurus, "Thank you though, Taurus. I’ll be counting on you when the time comes."

Perhaps, Beomgyu was unaware of the effects that his honesty had on people or Celestial Spirits but it made him all the more brighter during the age of the Dark Mages.

As Beomgyu rubbed gentle circles on his arm, he looked over to Taurus and asked, "Is there any way that you could communicate with someone that was a Celestial Mage?" Taurus' eyebrow quirked curiously as he looked at Beomgyu, pleading for him to continue. Beomgyu stammered as he tried to find an explanation, "Like ...would you be able to reach another Celestial Mage?"

"Who are you trying to reach?"

Beomgyu's fingers gripped the head of the lion on his sword. He cleared his throat as he moved his thumb around its mane before he peered up at Taurus, "Yeonjun's mom was a Celestial Mage. I wanted to know if I could reach out to her somehow."

"Oh," Taurus calmly said as he looked on at Beomgyu. He paused for a moment as if he was trying to find the words to let Beomgyu down. With a slight tilt of his head, he finally said, "Unless you have a Celestial Key that she once owned, me and the rest of the Gang won't be able to reach out to her."

"... is that how it works?"

Taurus shrugged, "The Celestial Realm is a mysterious place. I mean, it's weird enough that Leo said he's visited your boyfriend's dreams before."

"Don't visit my boyfriend's dreams!” Beomgyu demanded before he quietly asked, “… does he dream of me? Do you know?”

* * *

"You come to me while I am eating my dinner," Taehyun started as he pointed to the beautifully cooked meal in front of him before he looked at Beomgyu with an expression of flat annoyance. He sighed as he put his utensils down and folded his hands in front of him, "You come to me while I'm about to start eating dinner and for what, Beomgyu?"

"Why are you so angry right now?" Beomgyu asked, "I haven't even told you what I was doing here and you're already mad. Did something happen between you and Soobin?"

Taehyun let out an annoyed huff as he rolled his eyes – that was enough of an answer that Beomgyu could figure out that something had happened. Luckily, the Celestial Mage didn't have to try his luck as the perfect distraction bounded next to them: Hueningkai set his plate down next to Taehyun as he took the available seat. However, even with his presence, he could sense the tension between the two boys.

"Are you two fighting again?" Kai groaned, "Guys, we need to work on that. You don't have fight for everything, you know."

"We're not fighting," Beomgyu corrected, "Taehyun's annoyed with Soobin."

"I am _not_ annoyed with Soobin," Taehyun threw the sharpest glare he could muster at Beomgyu before he said, "It's just I'm worried about him. He's not going to say that he's going through something hard. He's going to keep it to himself until he can't hold it anymore." The blonde shook his head and frowned, "I honestly think it's got to do with Macabre."

"The root of all evil," Beomgyu muttered to himself, "Everything about them is so--"

"Gross," Kai added with a nod, "I heard from the Elders that Macabre actually came here. Last month, I think." Kai shook his head and frowned, "They wanted to take information on the Beast Soul Spells ..."

"What?" Taehyun's brows furrowed, "Beast Soul Spells?" The blonde Mage's eyes scanned across the air as if he was connecting unknown pieces together. Beomgyu knew that Taehyun was brilliant (even if Beomgyu refused to compliment him about it at the moment) and he was sure that the younger Mage was in the midst of solving a mystery. Taehyun's eyes returned to focus as he looked at Hueningkai, "Beast Soul ...is transferred, right?"

Kai nodded, "Yeah. It's a Magic that gets transferred from one person to another." Kai's hands moved as he explained, "It started with one person all the way back in the beginning. They connected their Soul with the Soul of a Magical Beast. From there, he honed his abilities and before he passed away, he transferred his soul to the next person." His hands moved into a circle as he continued to explain, "Each person who receives this continues to add and strengthen its ability until they pass it to the next person - it takes a village to raise this ability and because of it, when they do transfer it to someone ...there are times when it's really hard to control."

Magic was amazing - Beomgyu realized that he really didn't know much about the multitudes of Magical Discipline in this world. He had assumed Kai's Magic was a one-shot piece; that Kai had it but couldn't control it because he was so young. It surprised him that the Beast Soul was cultivated by many and that's why it became so out of control, so wild to the point that Kai couldn't use it well - his friends were amazing Mages.

"But you can control it now," Beomgyu assured him, "You've learned to control it now."

Kai shrugged, "I'm trying to and I think I've gotten better at shifting with it. There are times when it's not so easy, but you know ..."

"Why is Macabre Grimoire so focused on transferring things?" Taehyun asked. All of the things that Macabre Grimoire had been doing were all connected by their desire to transfer something. The blonde Mage frowned, "They have machines that steal and transfer Mana, right? They're looking into the Beast Soul Spells that transfer souls and abilities ..."

Taehyun really was too smart for his own good, Beomgyu decided. He looked at the younger Mage before he said, "... how much more dangerous can they get? We don't even know all of their abilities. We're all preparing for it, but we don't even know what the enemy can even do, you know?"

No one had to say it aloud because they all knew that they were headed to war with Macabre Grimoire and the Allantrez Army.

* * *

"You trust me, right?"

Hueningkai stared at Taehyun, confused with the slightest hint of curiosity in his expression. His brows rose slowly as he tilted his head to the side before he nodded very slowly at the shorter Mage, "Yes. I do trust you, Taehyun. You _are_ my best friend. Why wouldn't I trust you?"

"Like no matter what happens, I want you to swear that you believe me," Taehyun insisted as he looked Kai directly in the eyes. Taehyun knew that that seriousness in his eyes made the taller Mage nervous – he knew his best friend and could see the way his eyes jumped around the room. However, as Kai nodded, Taehyun continued, "You know that I would never, ever do anything to put you or anyone else in danger."

"You're not going to the Ghosts again, are you?" Kai pouted at Taehyun, "I know you grew up with them but they're scary sometimes."

Taehyun let out a soft laugh, "They're not really Ghosts."

"Ghosts _are_ ghosts."

"Oh, come off it, Kai," Taehyun shook his head, "You've been there before. They're not really Ghosts ...just the remnants of their heart."

While Kai's village was fully lively and caring people, Taehyun was the only one who was alive in his village - it was a village made for the sole purpose of loving one person.

The people in his village had been victims of a Dark Guild – he'd never been able to remember the name, just that their aim had been to wipe out the entire village of Magic users. At that time, Taehyun had been learning to do Magic and accidentally put himself into a card during the attack on his village. When he finally freed himself, he realized the village had been empty, except for the remnants of their cards and that was how his village of Ghosts came to be.

Taehyun put his Mana into those cards, giving the people a chance to live for a little longer ...even if it was just their final moments, he let their spirits last a little longer. The Village of Ghosts was never full of Ghosts; it was just a boy who craved to be surrounded by people that he loved just a little bit more.

And that was why Taehyun would do anything to protect the people that he loves.

 ** _Anything_**.

"What are you to planning to do, Taehyun?" Kai asked as he leaned back into the chair. "And is there anything that I can do to help you with it?"

Taehyun shook his head as he looked at Kai. There were many things that he wanted to say, but he knew he couldn’t bring it up. Not yet, not when it was just an inkling of a suspicion. "I need you to trust me, Kai," Taehyun insisted, "At the end of everything, I just need you to really, honestly trust in me and that the things I am about to do are to protect everyone."

Kai frowned – the secrets that Taehyun were holding onto made him feel uneasy. He sighed before he stood up and pulled Taehyun into a hug, "I trust you, even though I know you're about to do something completely insane. I don't know what it is but I'm always going to trust you."

"Please watch out for Soobin too, Kai. He needs a lot more care than anyone realizes."

* * *

Just for one day, Beomgyu wished he could wake up without the surge of panic.

The Celestial Mage swore that he had locked the door to his and Yeonjun’s room. He always made sure to do it because no one needed to accidentally walk in. Yet somehow, Soobin managed to unlock their door and slam it open. The moment the door swung open, Beomgyu groaned and tried to hide his face against his boyfriend, who was also trying to cling to the fleeting moments of slumber.

“Have you two seen Taehyun?” Soobin demanded in a tone that Beomgyu had not been aware the older Mage could have.

“No,” Beomgyu replied to the panicked Soobin at the door, “We haven’t seen Taehyun. I’m trying to see the darkness of my eyelids, Soobin.” He felt Yeonjun snicker – at least, they were both awake now. Beomgyu pulled the blanket off of him to look at Soobin, “Why would Taehyun be here?”

“I don’t know,” Soobin frowned as his eyes continued to search the room, as if he was hoping that Taehyun would be hiding somewhere, “I was supposed to meet him for an early training session, but he never showed up. I waited for an hour and then two, but he just didn’t show up. So, I’ve been looking for him.”

“Maybe he’s training elsewhere,” Yeonjun muttered as he turned over, trying to pull the blanket over himself. “The Sea Cow continent is huge. He could just be somewhere.”

“I’ve looked,” Soobin stressed, “I don’t know where he is. You have to help me find him.”

Beomgyu wondered why he was raised by such good people. If he had been raised by other people, he could have easily just said no and went right back to sleep – the bed was warm, his boyfriend was here, and he had decided that he was going to skip his morning training session. Unfortunately, he was raised by two very kind, very loving parents. He let out a sigh before he rolled over, “I’ll help you look for the blonde devil.” He poked Yeonjun’s side, “You come help too. You can’t say no. Taehyun falls under the category of ‘ _your people_ ’ that you swore to protect.”

“Thank you,” Soobin breathed out as he left their room. Beomgyu swore he could hear him knocking on Kai’s door with the same request.

“What?”

Beomgyu had just walked to where Soobin and Kai had been when he heard the older Mage’s voice raise, just slightly. At that sound, Beomgyu tried to turn away and walk back to their accommodations, but Yeonjun blocked him – “If I have to help your Guildmates, you have to help them too. Aren’t you all bonded by your Guild, Beomgyu?” Yeonjun scolded him as he guided him back to the group.

“I told you, Taehyun said he had to take care of something,” Kai explained. His brows furrowed, “I know it sounds very suspicious but please, just trust Taehyun.”

“You just let him go?” Soobin asked. He attempted to sound calm, but anyone could hear the frustration grow in his voice. The blue-haired Mage sighed, “Did he say anything about where he was headed?”

Kai shook his head, “He didn’t say what he was doing, just that he really needed me to trust him. You should trust him too. It’s Taehyun.”

“Again, with the Ghosts,” Beomgyu muttered to himself – Zombies, Ghosts …at this point, he wondered if they would have to face Vampires too. He looked at Soobin and said, “Well, I think he’s fine. It’s Taehyun. If anyone can be trusted to be on their own, it’s him.” Beomgyu paused and added, “I am allowed to compliment him. He’s not here, it’s okay.”

“I do wonder where he would go,” Yeonjun mused aloud, “Especially during this time.”

“Guys, just trust Taehyun,” Kai insisted, “Please. Just trust him.” He looked directly at Soobin, “You know him. You know the person he is and you know that you can trust him. So, please. Just trust Taehyun.”

* * *

“You can come out now,” Taehyun called out to the figures that lingered on behind him, “I know you’ve been following me the whole time.”

The blonde Mage had disembarked from the Sea Cow continent before the sun broke through the blanket of night. He knew he should have said his good-byes to everyone, but that would have ruined the plans he intended on completely. He carefully navigated himself through a few towns before he decided to finally heed the warning he’d been given. At the center of the path, he stopped and turned to face where he could sense the scouts.

While it looked as though Taehyun casually had a hand in his pocket, the Mage’s fingers brushed across the edges of the cards in his pocket. He cleared his throat before he called out again, “You would think that if Macabre Grimoire sent a scout, they’d do a better job of _not_ being caught, right?”

“You’ve known we were following you since the Sea Cow, Mage. Why call us out only now?”

Taehyun smirked at the scout as he shrugged, “That Sea Cow is my friend’s home. I didn’t want to dirty it with your blood. It’d be terribly rude..”

The scout snapped their fingers and in that second, Taehyun could count the number of Macabre Grimoire Mages around him. _Surrounded_. He looked at them before he flatly insulted with, “Disposable members are embarrassing.” Strands of blonde hair shook he chuckled, “Bring me the person in charge of your group and save yourself the embarrassment of losing to one Mage. I need to talk to someone important.”

Those words did not sit well with the lower-class Mages. Lower-leveled Mages had egos so big that even the simplest of words could deflate them. Taehyun expected this. People like this were predictable.

“ ** _Vignes de Retenue_** ,” Taehyun tossed the Mana charged card at the Mages. When the card hit the chest of a Mage, long, twisted vines emerged from it and tightly held down whomever was unfortunate enough to be within its reach. He folded his hands over his chest as he looked at the Mages, “I told you, you should have brought me the person in charge of your group. I need to talk to someone of significance. Not you lot.”

A slow clap began followed by a soft giggle.

Taehyun glanced at the figure that appeared: green hair, adorned with a gold flower crown, framed the fox-like features on a very delicate face – this person looked almost like a fairy. The person continued to clap until they completely materialized in front of Taehyun.

“I’m impressed at your determination, BH Mage,” the person said, “I’ll grant you two minutes of my attention. After two minutes, I’ll decide if you live or die.”

“I want to join Macabre Grimoire,” was all Taehyun needed to say to ensure his livelihood.

* * *

The hour of the Virtue was when they were all instructed to regroup, but it seemed that everyone in the Guild had the same urge to return to its familiarity. Three days before the hour of the Virtue, everyone began to return to the town that BH Guild was located at.

A _very_ happy Beomgyu placed his belongings on the nearby armchair before he threw himself onto his bed. He let out the happiest sigh as he settled into his bed. While the Celestial Mage had no complaints about where he had slept for the past week and some odd days, there really was no place better than his own bed. He closed his eyes and sighed happily.

“You kept the teddy bear?”

Beomgyu opened his eyes and looked over to the teddy bear that sat on the bed. He reached for it and pulled it into a hug, “It’s a perfectly good teddy bear. Why would I _not_ keep it? Besides, he holds four days’ worth of tears, Yeonjun.” Beomgyu placed a soft kiss onto of the teddy bear’s head before he stuck a tongue out at Yeonjun, “Besides, a very cute guy in some town gave this to me. He promised to take me out on another date, but it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe he’s just not into me.”

“Well, I hate to say it but that guy’s lame if he doesn’t realize how lucky he was to have even one date with you,” Yeonjun replied as he put his bags down. He took a seat next to where Beomgyu had laid down. “Did you really cry for four days?”

“I don’t remember how many days, but I cried a lot,” Beomgyu pouted before he reached for the necklace he’d placed on the teddy bear. “Here, I know you were giving this to me as a dying wish and I don’t want anything to do with you dying,” Beomgyu held the necklace out to Yeonjun, “So, I’m rejecting your plans of dying, Yeonjun.”

“Well, let’s change that then,” Yeonjun said as he took the necklace and gently placed it on Beomgyu’s neck. He smiled, “Wear it as a promise that I’ll never leave or make you cry …for four days. Maybe three or five, but not four.” He grinned as he pressed a gentle kiss on Beomgyu’s lips, “But I’ll take it back after we both survive whatever Macabre Grimoire and the Allantrez Army have for us.”

Beomgyu let out a giggle as he adjusted himself. He sat crossed legged in front of Yeonjun as the cheekiest smile came on him. “Man, you really love me, don’t you,” Beomgyu teased with a smile, “His Royal Highness, the Prince of Chronos is so in love with me that he doesn’t even know how obvious he is about it.” Beomgyu giggled, amused at his own teasing except …

“And if I am?” Yeonjun asked with such seriousness that Beomgyu’s giggles came to a stop.

“If you are what?” Beomgyu asked slowly as the heat in his cheek tingled. He blinked a few times, trying to figure out if he had heard Yeonjun speak correctly. He swallowed nervously as he waited for Yeonjun to say something.

“In love with you,” Yeonjun admitted. Beomgyu felt his heart lose itself the moment Yeonjun smiled at him and said, loud and clear, “I love you.”

The Celestial Mage buried his face into the teddy bear. Was this really happening? Did this really happen? Did Yeonjun just say—Beomgyu could feel his smile grow. He slowly lifted his face from the teddy bear and knew that he was blushing. There was a bashful glow as he tried to stop smiling, but there was no point – his happiness betrayed everything he tried to do to mask it.

Like any sane person who was confessed to, Beomgyu threw the teddy bear at Yeonjun before he buried his face into his pillow. Slowly, he took the pillow off as he looked over at Yeonjun. Beomgyu sat up as he tried to fix his hair – he ignored the eyebrow raise that Yeonjun gave him since what he was about to say was more important.

“I love you too,” Beomgyu finally said what his heart had been trying to tell him earlier.

There was a comfortable silence that fell around the both of them. A nervous smile came on Yeonjun as he took Beomgyu’s hand into his. Was this what happiness felt like? Beomgyu was certain.

“Oh, by the way,” Beomgyu grinned at Yeonjun as he raised his eyebrows at him, “Three kids, huh? Twins and a baby too?”

Yeonjun threw his head back as he groaned, “Leo told you, huh? He would tell you. He really would.”

Beomgyu giggled. Yeah, this was what happiness truly was.

* * *

It seemed that Macabre Grimoire was aware that the BH Guild had begun its return, except this time, their target shifted. They were no longer interested in attacking the BH Guild. They were interested in retrieving BH’s one and only, Great and Handsome Beomgyu.

Beomgyu intended to do one last round of training before they officially returned to the Guild. He even quietly got out of bed before Yeonjun woke up to get a final round in. It was barely two weeks and Beomgyu knew he wasn’t at the level he wanted to be with the Star Armor – he needed to put in a little more work, needed to master some more technique before he could truly say he was ready. Beomgyu wasn’t going to let himself become a burden during this fight.

The Celestial Mage had begun his last training session in the nearby forest. He’d summoned Taurus for more weapons combat training and had been in the middle of trying to put on his Star Armor when Macabre Grimoire’s interruption came.

“Oh,” the fairy-like Mage appeared floated above Beomgyu. He laid down in the air, floated above the Celestial Mage before he giggled, “I didn’t think that we’d find BH’s Celestial Mage so quickly. I thought it’d be a little more challenging. Especially since that blondie said you’d be tougher to catch.”

_Blondie?_

Taurus stepped in front of Beomgyu – his hands gripped around the hilt of the battle axe. “Beomgyu, stay close,” the Celestial Spirit warned, “That’s not your only opponent, Beomie.”

“Beomie? Beomie?” the fairy-like Mage giggled as he repeated the nickname, “That’s such a cute nickname. I should take it. It’s much cuter than Basil. Hey,” Basil said as he smiled at Beomgyu, “If I kill you, can I take that name?”

Beomgyu stepped back. This Mage’s Mana had a tainted touch to it – the pureness of Magic was missing from it. It wasn’t like Yeonjun’s that he couldn’t feel. He could feel this Mana, but there was a darkness buried in it that made Beomgyu feel sick.

“Sorry, Cilantro,” Beomgyu responded, “I don’t have time to die!” He looked at Taurus, “Let’s go.”

Just as Beomgyu tried to turn to run, he was surrounded. This time, it wasn’t by just Macabre Grimoire’s Mages. There were soldiers donning the Allantrez Army’s Coat of Arms on their armor.

“Beomie,” Basil sang the nickname, “You can’t go anywhere. I have to take you back. We need to use you as bait. I would have killed you and just carried you back, but Blondie insists that you come alive.”

“I’m not going,” Beomgyu respond.

Taurus didn’t have to be told what to do. The Spirit of the Bull swung his battle axe with full force – the swing of his axe charged with his abilities sent a projectile of a bull to the assailants around them. The bull rushed at them, causing them to topple over. Taurus did not wait for their reaction – he ran toward the soldiers in front of Beomgyu. With quick movement, he swung the large two-handed battle axe upward before he slammed it into the ground – the axe broke the ground it pierced, cracking beneath their attackers before a force of Mana erupted from under them.

“Beomgyu,” Taurus called out, “Let’s go. We need to get you to safety.”

The Celestial Mage nodded. He started to run forward as Taurus rushed the people in front of them – the Celestial Spirit of the Bull cleared the path for Beomgyu. As hard as Taurus was fighting, Beomgyu knew that they needed to get help faster. He reached for his keys until he found Toto’s. While Beomgyu would have normally been happy to see his favorite parrot, he needed Toto to complete a mission.

“Toto, get to the Guild! Warn everyone,” Beomgyu instructed, “Taurus and I will try to keep Macabre Grimoire away but warn the Guild immediately.” He nodded at the bird and then added, “After you warn the Guild, bring Yeonjun to me. Please, Toto. Hurry.”

* * *

When it came to war, there was never any timeline. The BH Guild might have insisted on a two-week break, but that was never relayed to Macabre Grimoire.

Hueningkai felt the surge of Mana beat through his soul. He let out a roar as he channeled the strength of his Beast Soul. While the shift into full beast was never comfortable, it was easier to control the creature that he’d become – the Beast Soul had been tamed enough to let Kai take the reins.

“Get back,” Kai roared as he swung his arm across, taking down the attackers that had launched themselves at him. Beomgyu’s Celestial Spirit Toto had warned them but even with the warning, the combined number of the Macabre Grimoire Mages and the Allantrez Army easily trounced their Guild’s. However, the BH Guild had never relied on just numbers.

“Meteor!” Seokjin cried out as his entire body was cloaked by his Mana. He moved through the air, sailing across it like a meteor – he ushered through the attackers, each one unable to hit him. The trajectory he had taken propelled him through the air; each person he had run into fell to his speed. On the final assailant that he’d kicked, he threw himself into the air.

“Grand Chariot,” As Seokjin was in the air, he placed both of his arms on top of each other, with the top hand having only the index and middle finger spread out. In front of him, seven Casting Circles were summoned – each Casting Circle linked with one another, like a constellation being formed. As they connected, each Casting Circle released a powerful blast of light down on the attackers in front of him. When he landed, he gave Kai a thumbs up and then a wink before he continued to fight the rest of the assailants.

The Virtues of the BH Guild had always been the most amazing to watch in battle, even if it felt unfair to their opponents.

There had been rumors that Jungkook’s Magic had been strong enough to destroy the Magic that was aimed at him. Unfortunately, there weren’t many people who survived to tell the tale.

Jungkook had been surrounded by a large group of Mages. One of the Mages orchestrated the attack at him – the entire group of Mages aimed their abilities at the youngest Virtue. Jungkook smiled at them as he pulled his hand back and caught the attack – a large casting circle formed in the center of his palm and as the opponent’s attack was trapped in the center, he closed his fist, “CRUSH.” The spell did essentially that – it crushed the attack that was aimed at him, dispersed it across.

“My turn,” Jungkook grinned as he lifted that hand upward and threw the Casting Circle onto the ground. “SHOCKWAVE,” he called out the moment his hand hit the ground. The strength of the attacks that had been aimed at him was returned through his Casting Circle. He cracked his knuckles as Casting Circles formed around them. That excited smile on him had his opponents worried for their own safety.

Kai fought his way through the crowd toward Soobin. Unlike everyone else who ran straight into battle, Soobin had tended to the people on their end who were injured.

“Kai,” Soobin called out, “Are you alright? Come here, let me heal you.”

The younger Mage shook his head and said, “I’ll protect you from the attackers, Soobin. We’re going to need as much help as we can.” Kai rushed at the Mages that aimed at Soobin, taking them and tossing them aside with the strength of a Beast. Taehyun had asked him to take care of Soobin, so he would make sure to keep his promise.

“Kai,” Soobin called out, “Where’s Beomgyu? I think they’re after Beomgyu.”

“I don’t know …,” Kai admitted before he looked around, “I haven’t seen Yeonj---”

There was no need to look for Yeonjun. All you need to do is follow the lightning.

* * *

This was the second time that Toto had come to Yeonjun asking him to come help Beomgyu.

“Why didn’t he just wake me up instead of going alone?” Yeonjun grumbled as he ran after the parrot. There were a lot of things that Yeonjun wanted to say but finding Beomgyu was the priority. As he ran after Toto, he slid into a halt as the gravity of the situation finally fell on him.

Yeonjun pulled his fist back, a quick cast had it covered in lightning before he struck the assailants in front of him. Another cast covered his other fist in lightning before he threw an uppercut, then a jab at the attackers that started to surround him. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to get to Beomgyu.

“Tch,” he frowned. The path that Toto was trying to head toward was teeming with Dark Mages and soldiers. “Toto, get behind me. I’ll clear them.”

Once Beomgyu’s Celestial Spirit was out of the way, Yeonjun began his attack. He gathered a large amount of lightning around of his fists as he bent the arm and extended his fist forward in a punching motion. As he pushed his fist in the air, a Casting Circle appeared before him – he pushed his fist through the Casting Circle which thrust a burst of electrical energy through the air and towards the targets. The lightning enveloped the attackers, leaving a majority of the stunned and powerless.

Yeonjun nodded at Toto, “Let’s go. We need to get to Beomgyu.”

Toto flew forward, flying just ahead of Yeonjun. Yeonjun followed after until the Celestial Spirit returned and landed on his shoulder. The Dragon Slayer turned to it, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Something’s coming …,” Toto whispered, trying to make itself smaller, “I can’t go to Beomie if it’s there …it’s scary.”

“I’ll take care of it, Toto,” Yeonjun tried to calm the bird, “I’ll take care of everything, we just need to get to Beomgyu first.”

“I don’t think, Prince _Daniel_ ,” the Mage that scared Toto stepped forward. Yeonjun’s eyes narrowed at her, “I didn’t think that you, of all people, would have been a Mage.” Lady Mildred’s daughter, Guinevere, had always been the persistent type. Except, Yeonjun never expected the curly haired blonde to be a Mage he’d meet on the battlefield. She folded her arms in front of her as she shook her head and said, “You should have just said yes to having dinner with me and then being my date for the Summoner’s Ball. It would have made things easier.”

“You’re not my type,” Yeonjun said flatly.

“It’s okay. Magic can make anyone your type,” She smiled, “I’m going to beat and then a simple memory spell will have you thinking that we’ve been together since we were kids, Daniel. I’m going to be the new Queen of Chronos. Either you make it easy or I’ll make it easy …for me.”

Yeonjun laughed, “You should just leave. You’re not going to win this fight.”

“Oh, I’m not trying to win it,” she smiled, “I’m just trying to stall you, Daniel.” Her eyes glimmered with intention, “You’re not our target this time.”

The softness in Yeonjun’s eyes sharpened at the implication of her words. “Move, Guinevere. Move before I get mad.”

She smirked before she asked, “So, tell me, what happens if I close one of those Casting Circles?”

* * *

The forests around the BH Guild were ones that Beomgyu had become very familiar with. He’d gone through them often enough that he knew which ones were confusing for first-timers – he chosen that route for him and Taurus.

“Come on, Toto,” Beomgyu said between breaths. He was sure Toto had warned the Guild – he could hear the battle rage on but he wondered where Yeonjun was. The sound of lightning seemed like it had been getting closer, but he hadn’t seen his Prince yet. He looked at Taurus, “I’ll send you back, Taurus. You’re exerting too much of your Celestial Mana. I don’t want you collapsing.”

“No, I’m going to fight and protect you until I can’t,” Taurus insisted, “You’re my Mage, Beomgyu. I’ll fight to protect you.”

The annoying giggle of Basil carried above them. Beomgyu looked up at the green Mage was watching them. “You know, I’ve never seen a Celestial Mage want to protect their Spirits as badly as you do,” Basil smiled, “I want to see what happens when they get hurt.” The roundness of Basil’s eyes shifted, sharpened into a dark expression as he summoned a Casting Circle with his fingers and aimed it at Taurus, “Bang.”

A streak of light aimed at Taurus and pierced through his shoulder. The Spirit of the Bull dropped his battle axed as he tried to cover his wound. Beomgyu’s eyes widened as he ran over to Taurus. “I’m sending you back, I don’t care what you say anymore,” Beomgyu decided, “I’m not letting them take any of you. Never again.”

Taurus tried to protest, claiming that he would stay out of love to protect his Mage but Beomgyu didn’t let him finish. Instead, the Celestial Mage instructed, “Taurus Gate, seal.”

The Celestial Mage was aware that his survival depended on his ability to summon his Celestial Spirits. However, in front of Macabre Grimoire, Beomgyu did not want to risk anymore of his Spirits being hurt or being taken away from him. He knew he needed to find a different way to defeat Basil …so, he ran.

“How boring,” Basil sang out as he gestured for the Mages and soldiers to follow Beomgyu, “Hurt him so he has to call out his Spirits. Blondie said we needed him alive, but he didn’t say that we could beat him up.” Basil smiled, “I bet his pretty face would look even prettier with a few more scars on it, don’t you think?”

Normally, Beomgyu had a much better grasp at strategy. By now, he would have summoned Aquarius and had her literally wipe all of these attackers away. Unfortunately, Beomgyu's mind was scrambled - all he could think about was how he needed to make sure that no one took any of his keys away from him again.

"I need to get away," Beomgyu muttered to himself as he ran deeper into the forest. He searched for somewhere to hide while he figured out what to do. "Stupid, stupid," he cursed at himself, knowing that he could have easily taken care of these assailants but the courage that he usually paraded had dwindled as of recently. He hid himself deep into a nearby cave, hiding himself from the attackers as he closed his eyes.

 _What was wrong with him_?

Beomgyu buried his face into his hands as he felt the cold grip of fear slip itself around him. He could just summon one of his Celestial Spirits, he could do it and everything would be much easier. Any of his Celestial Spirits could take care of these Mages ...but what if they didn't? What if something happened and they got hurt again? What if Beomgyu was careless and one of his Keys were--his keys!

"Are they all here?" Beomgyu whispered as he pulled them out of his pocket. He sighed with relief as he physically felt them ...but they weren't all there. Gemini was still missing, still not present. "I'm the worst Celestial Mage ever," Beomgyu had never been able to remove the guilt for that moment.

His eyes widened as he heard the giggle of the green Mage at the entrance of the cave. The Celestial Mage pressed his back against the rough cave wall, trying to blend in with the surroundings. He put his hands over his mouth as he tried to keep himself quiet, but even with the faux calm he tried to portray, Beomgyu knew things were not going to go well.

"Oh, Beomie ~," Basil sang out as he shot beams of light down the cave. "I know you're in here, I can almost taste your Mana."

* * *

When it came to battle, Yeonjun usually had an advantage: his abilities allowed him to dance between long-range and close-range combat. With lightning being an extension of his being, it made it easier for the Dragon Slayer to navigate himself around the battlefield.

"Oh, Danny," Guinevere called out to him and Yeonjun rolled his eyes at the nickname. No one, not even his birth mother or even Edmonds, had called him that. She clapped her hands together and asked, "You wouldn't hit a lady, would you?"

"I need to get to Beomgyu," Yeonjun said as he charged the lightning in his hands, "We've got three kids who will be very disappointed if I don't save their father."

"Go ahead and try," Guinevere challenged.

The look in her eyes made Yeonjun heed with caution. While his abilities had become well known - it was difficult to avoid the sound of thunder when it shuddered down so quickly - he had no knowledge on what hers was. The Dragon Slayer had never been aware that she had abilities despite their consistent meetings; his step-mother had insisted on pushing a marriage agenda even with Yeonjun's obvious non-interest.

With a snap of his fingers, he sent a bolt of lightning toward her.

The lightning fizzled out before it hit the young woman.

"Danny," Guinevere said calmly, "I'm willing to forgive you for trying to kill me. As my future husband, you must realize I am willing to forgive you for your mistakes."

"It's not a mistake," Yeonjun reminded her. He snapped his fingers a few more times to see if the miss had been a fluke but by the time the fourth streak of lightning fizzled out, Yeonjun could determine her ability. He needed to keep a distance from her - Magical negation was not a gamble that the Prince could afford.

Yeonjun needed to figure out a plan. He paused his movements as he scanned their immediate surroundings - what could he use to beat her if Magic wasn't going to work? He frowned as she inched forward. Each step she took, he took one back to keep the distance between them. Unfortunately, this was a fight against a member of a Dark Guild. Why Yeonjun thought it would have been a fair one-on-one match was beyond him. He heard the Mages run up from behind him as he called upon the lightning to take them down.

As the Mages fell, Yeonjun turned just in time to face the Lady attacking him. He reached for her wrists to prevent her hands from touching him.

"Daniel, let me close this," she tried to fight him off, tried to reach for his heart, "I'll close this Casting Circle. You broke my heart so I'll get rid of yours." As she squirmed in his hands, she managed to reach one hand free before she pushed it against his chest.

Yeonjun's grip on her wrists immediately fell as he felt the consequences of that Casting Circle's close. The Dragon Slayer buckled over as he choked out - his mother warned him that if the Casting Circle ever closed, he would only have a maximum of six minutes to restart the illusion before he would die. However, with Guinevere in front of him, he couldn't cast normally.

"I'll stop negating your Magic," she said as she knelt beside him. She ran her fingers through his hair as she smiled, "All you have to say is that you'll marry me."

“That’s not very becoming of you, Lady Guinevere.”

Yeonjun knew that voice. Why did he know that voice? He tried to lift his head to see but everything in him was trying to cast a new circle.

“Oh, if it isn’t the King of Hearts,” she responded, “I’m surprised you’re here. Are you sure you want to show your face to your old Guild?”

Yeonjun knew who this King of Hearts was now.

“Of course, I do. I want them to see that I’m on the winning side now,” the _King of Hearts_ responded as he shuffled through his deck. When the deck of cards stopped shuffling, Yeonjun heard the chant of a spell and the scream of Guinevere. The Magic Negation ended and Yeonjun was able to return the Casting Circle to his chest – 2 minutes to spare before his body would have given up completely.

“Taehyun, what the fu—”

The younger Mage held a hand up in front of Yeonjun to stop him from talking. With his free hand, he summoned a light blue flame in the center and said, “King of Hearts, checking in. I’ve just arrived at Lady Guinevere’s location. Unfortunately, it seems as though she was unable to capture the Dragon Slayer. I’m certain the Dragon Slayer is headed for his Celestial Mage. I’ll follow up with Basil. Of course, of course.” Taehyun paused and said, “Long live Macabre Grimoire.” And then flame blew out.

Taehyun looked at Yeonjun, “We have a lot to catch up on.”

* * *

Beomgyu covered his face, before he curled up into himself. He could feel himself crying. Why was he so scared now? Why wasn’t he able to just do what he usually did? What was wrong with him? He was more than this, he was a better Mage than this …

“ _What’s with the tears, Beomie?_ ”

The Celestial Mage looked up to see the materialization of the Spirit of the Lion. The light of Mana swirled around as it slowly revealed Leo. He gave Beomgyu a smile and asked once more, “What’s with the tears, Beomie? You know you’ve got me in your corner, always.”

“Leo …,” Beomgyu looked up at him as tears fell, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

**_“What’s with the tears, Beomie?”_ ** _Leo asked a seventeen-year-old, Beomgyu._

_“I messed up, I messed up, Leo,” Beomgyu said, panic drove through his eyes as he looked around. His breathing was heavy, hard to catch as his heart raced. He gazed up at Leo, “I didn’t know they were going to be mad. I didn’t think they cared about the Pisces key that badly. They’re going to kill me if they get me.”_

_Leo laughed as he looked at Beomgyu, “You sure know how to get into trouble, don’t you, Beomie?”_

_“I just wanted to make sure that Pisces came home with me!” Beomgyu cried out, “I didn’t know that they were going to try and kill me!”_

_The Zodiac Spirit of the Lion shook his head as he looked at the frightened Mage. A smile came on his expression as he laughed. He put his hands in his pocket and said, “Stop crying, Beomie. You’ve got me in your corner, always. I’ll take care of this.”_

_“ **What’s with the tears, Beomie?** ” Leo asked a sixteen-year-old Beomgyu._

_“Leo,” Beomgyu looked up at him, unable to stop the tears from falling. “Am I that hard to love?”_

_The Zodiac Spirit sighed. Though he wasn’t affected by the tensions of young romance anymore, his Celestial Mage had been subject to the heartaches of that age. Unfortunately, the break of immature love was never something that could be fixed, even by Magic._

_“Oh, Beomie,” Leo reached over to hug the young Mage, “You’re not hard to love. You’re just chasing after people that don’t deserve your love. You’re going to find people that will love you and take care of you forever, okay?” He pressed a kiss at the top of Beomgyu’s head, “Besides, you’ve got me in your corner, always.”_

_“ **What’s with the tears, Beomie?”** Leo asked a twelve-year-old Beomgyu._

_Beomgyu looked up to see Leo’s concerned expression. When their eyes met for a split second, Beomgyu covered his face with his hands as he mumbled something that Leo couldn’t understand. The Celestial Spirit sat down next to Beomgyu and sighed, “ **Come on, Beomie. You can tell me. You know you’ve got me in your corner, always**.”_

_“The kids at school,” Beomgyu finally looked up, eyes red and puffy from the tears. Between sniffles, he managed to say, “They keep saying I’m weak. That I’m never going to be a good Mage.”_

_Leo’s laugh rang out loudly._

_“It’s funny, Leo. They keep saying that I’m going to be a weak Mage forever.”_

_“First of all, you’re not a weak Mage. You’re **my** Mage and my Mage is not weak,” Leo insisted. He pointed at Beomgyu, “Besides, why are you going to let them tell you who you are, Beomie?”_

_“Because they’re stronger than me,” Beomgyu said quietly as he pulled his knees to his chest. He sniffled as he ran his hands through the grass, “They’re all stronger and bigger than me.”_

_Leo rolled his eyes as he stood up. He held his hands out in front of Beomgyu until Beomgyu took them. Leo pulled the young Mage to his feet before he squeezed Beomgyu’s cheeks with his hands, “Repeat after me, okay?”_

_Beomgyu nodded._

_“Say, ‘I’m the Great and Handsome Beomgyu.’”_

_“No, that’s stup--,” Beomgyu couldn’t finish his protest as Leo squeezed his cheeks again._

_“Say it, ‘I’m the Great and Handsome Beomgyu.’”_

_Beomgyu pouted before he reluctantly said, “I’m the Great and Handsome Beomgyu.”_

_Leo moved his hands off Beomgyu’s face as he smiled. “Come on, say it with me now, ‘I’m the Great and Handsome Beomgyu!’ Say it again, Beomie.”_

_“I’m the Great and Handsome Beomgyu!”_

_“Again, say it with more feeling so that everyone knows who you are!”_

_“I’m the Great and Handsome Beomgyu!” Beomgyu said, excited with the encouragement that Leo had been giving him. He threw his hands in the air and shouted, “Me! I’m the Great and Handsome Beomgyu!”_

_“Exactly, Beomie. You’re **my** Mage and you’re the Great and Handsome Beomgyu.”_

_“You need to stop forcing your Celestial Entrance into the human world,” Aquarius warned the Lion as she folded her arms over her chest, “You know that takes a toll on us every single time we enter without Beomgyu bringing us in.”_

_Leo shrugged at the Water Bearer, “It’s fine.”_

_“It’s not fine, Leo,” Aquarius warned, “You know there are consequences to your abilities whenever you’re in the human world for longer than the allotted time period our Mages give us.”_

_“Look, Beomgyu needs us more than just on the battlefield,” Leo explained as he looked at Aquarius, “You can’t tell me that he’s not the best Mage we’ve ever had. Not all Mages have a heart as big as Beomgyu does.”_

_“I know, but consider what it doe—”_

_“If Beomgyu ever cries, that’s enough reason for me to cross over, Aquarius,” Leo explained, “Beomgyu’s **my** Mage and I will do anything to protect him because he would do the same for us. You’ve been in their family for generations. So, you don’t know how hard it is to be in the hands of a Mage that doesn’t care, Aquarius. Beomgyu is the best Mage I’ve ever had and I’m going to take care of him.”_

“It’s okay,” Leo said as he knelt down beside Beomgyu. He pulled the Celestial Mage into a hug as he pressed a kiss on the top of Beomgyu’s head, “You’re only scared because you love us so much, Beomie. That’s why you’re scared. We know, trust me. We all know.”

“I’m the worst Mage, I lost Gemini and Taurus got hurt,” Beomgyu cried into Leo’s shoulder, “I’m better than this Leo, you know this. I’m go—”

The voice of the green Mage echoed to where they were. Those in pursuit of Beomgyu were closing in and Leo knew that at the moment, his Celestial Mage would still be unable to do anything. He sighed as he put his hands on Beomgyu’s cheeks, he forced the Mage to look him in the eyes.

“I’m going to take care of them, okay? I’ll get rid of all of them, Beomgyu,” Leo instructed, “But you need to move once the coast is clear. Go to your Dragon Slayer, go to your friends. They’ll protect you until you’re able to be the Great and Handsome Beomgyu that I know and love, okay?”

Beomgyu nodded slowly, not understanding the words that Leo was saying.

“Promise me that you’re going to keep going,” Leo spoke slowly, “Promise me that you’re not going to let this stop you from going forward, Beomie. You and your Prince need to get your happily-ever-after, okay? So, do not let this stop you from it.”

“Leo …what are you talking about?”

“It’s not good-bye, Beomie. You know it’s not,” Leo said as he finally let go of Beomgyu, “I’ll just see you later, Beomie. Take care of yourself, okay?”

Beomgyu’s questions and cries fell to the wayside as Leo walked down the cave’s path. He stopped in front of the green Mage that had been in hot pursuit of Beomgyu.

“A Celestial Spirit?” Basil asked as he looked on at Leo, “I didn’t think that Mage had it in him to summon anyone at the moment.”

“He doesn’t have to,” Leo grinned, “I’m doing my duty as his Celestial Spirit and protecting him from monsters like you.” Leo moved his right hand out of his pocket to adjust his sunglasses before he pointed at the Mage, “You’re opponent is me, the King of the Zodiac.”

“Your bravery is foolish.”

“We’ll see, won’t we?”

At Basil’s command, the Dark Mages sprang forward. They cast their spells, all of them aimed Leo as he navigated through them. He dodged the impact of the spells, rushed at the attackers and forced them into hand-to-hand combat – the Spirit was fast, ferocious in his nature as he defeated them. His eyes widened as he felt the puncture of Basil’s light – the same attack that had pierced through Taurus.

“All’s fair in love in war, isn’t it?”

Leo turned to face him and grinned, “You want to make it fair in love and war, Mage? Let’s make it fair in love and war.”

The Zodiac Spirit took on an ancient cast form. Unlike the rest of the Spirits, Leo had broken through the human world enough times to be able to learn spells that Mages took. A Casting Circle emerged in the center of right palm as he lifted it upward and gripped his right bicep with his left palm, “O Regulus, give me your strength.” A brilliant light descended up on him as he grinned.

“Regulus Gatling Impact,” Leo shouted as he let out a ballistic barrage of punches to the Mages around him. Every time the punch would connect, it would emit a brilliant beam of light to throw the Mages backward. As he made quick work on the immediate attackers, it seemed as though there were more and more headed toward him.

Leo switched the position of his cast form – the circle cast emerged from beneath him as his entire body emitted a bright light, it spread through the entirety of the cave. “Song of the Lion,” he said as the light that filled the cave shifted into an explosive round of energy. It struck all of the attackers, except for Basil.

“All’s fair in love and war, right?” Leo asked as he turned his attention to Basil.

In desperation, Basil began to shoot beams at Leo. At first, Leo avoided them but the endless throes of enemies kept coming forward. The Spirit of the Lion closed his eyes before he nodded.

In the center of Leo’s palms, bright Mana gathered until it spread through his body. He could feel the flow of Mana pulsating through him. He glanced down the cave where he had left Beomgyu and smiled before he turned to face Basil.

“Beomgyu’s a better Mage than you’d ever be,” he said before he clapped his hands together once, twice and by the third time, the Mana he had gathered exploded taking out every single Dark Mage in the cave. The power of the explosion shuddered through the cave, shaking everything in it as it threatened to collapse.

The fallen debris avoided Beomgyu – a soft protection of Mana covered the Celestial Mage.

“No,” Beomgyu shouted as the realization happened. He felt his breath short out as he looked at the Key of Leo.

The Gold Key of the Lion had been the first Key that Beomgyu got on his own. Aquarius had been passed down to him from his mother, but Leo was the first Spirit that Beomgyu had acquired by himself.

“No,” Beomgyu whispered as his vision blurred.

The Gold Key of the Lion cracked in half – the brilliant light of the Gold Key dulled into an older bronze.

_“Leo,” Beomgyu asked as they sat on the hill overlooking the village, “What happens when a Celestial key breaks?”_

_Leo snorted as he turned his head lazily to look at his Mage, “Why are you planning on breaking one?”_

_“No,” Beomgyu shouted in annoyance. He pouted, “I just wanted to know what happens if it does. Do Celestial Spirits …you know?”_

_“Die?” Leo shook his head, “No, we don’t die. We’re already Spirits, Beomgyu. For me and the rest of the Zodiac Spirits, we live forever. But, if our Key breaks,” he sighed and looked up at the sky, “We disappear for a bit until we’re strong enough to come back.”_

_“You’ll come back?”_

_“Yeah, when our Keys return, so do we,” Leo explained, “If our key breaks, that means we’ve expended all of our Celestial Mana and our entrance to the human world is closed. We can’t return until our key is back here.”_

_“Your key won’t break, right?”_

_“That depends on you, Beomie,” Leo nodded as he closed his eyes. He smiled as he said, “But don’t worry, Beomgyu. I’m in your corner, always.”_

Beomgyu heard footsteps echo through the cave. He opened his eyes, looked up from where he’d been sat. “Oh no,” he whispered as he clutched Leo’s broken key to his chest.

“This is the King of Hearts,” the very familiar voice of Kang Taehyun echoed through the cave. A soft blue flame was in the center of his hand as he walked through the cave, “I’ve arrived at the location that Basil’s last Mana signal was. Unfortunately, your Funeral Wreath seems to have died.”

Taehyun stopped in front of Beomgyu. The Celestial Mage looked up at Taehyun, confused as why the blonde Mage was here now. Taehyun looked directly at Beomgyu before he continued talking to whomever was on the other side of the blue flame.

“The Celestial Mage?” Taehyun shook his head, “He’s not here. I don’t see him anywhere. I think the Celestial Mage had defeated the Basil and his team before he escaped. There’s no traces of him in the area. Of course, I’ll head back to the base now. We’re going to need to discuss the incompetence of your prided Funeral Wreaths. You should have me do this from the start.”

When the blue flame fizzled out from Taehyun’s hand, he looked over at Beomgyu, “Let’s go. We have a lot to catch up on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, friends.
> 
> Thank you so much for making it the end of Chapter 13! I hope you enjoyed it! This chapter had a lot of things going on and a lot of things going wrong. This was a fun chapter to write but also a hard chapter to write.
> 
> The build-up is being laid and we're getting to the end.
> 
> Like always, love and appreciate ya so much!  
> See you in the next chapter.


	14. Into the 11th Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, there is no winning a war without casualties but in the 11th hour, miracles do happen.

“This belongs to you.”

The Celestial Mage sat slump in his seat. It took every ounce of remaining energy in him to look up at Taehyun. Beomgyu blinked a few times as he attempted to focus his tired vision at the younger Mage in front of him. Slowly, he pushed the question out, “What belongs to me?”

“This,” Taehyun held a gold key in front of Beomgyu, “Gemini belongs to you.”

Beomgyu’s eyes lit up as he reached for the key. His fingers brushed against the familiar grooves of the Gemini key. Although he had just finished crying, Beomgyu couldn’t hold back the newly formed tears from falling. While Beomgyu was happy to have his Gemini twins back, he knew they’d be missing someone in their family now. He rubbed the back of his hand against his eyes, “Thank you for bringing them home, Taehyun.”

The blonde Mage shook his head as he explained, “They had a few more of those Zodiac keys there but I couldn’t get them.”

“They have more keys?”

Taehyun nodded, “They had three others there, but they’re embedded in the door now. I don’t have the right Magic to remove them,” He moved his hands in a circle as he explained, “There’s a room with a door that leads to nowhere but twelve key slots on it.” He shook his head, “They’re trying to open it and I think they need all twelve of the Zodiac keys.” There was a pause as he looked at Beomgyu, “That’s why they were after you, Beomgyu. They want your keys.”

Beomgyu’s eyes fell from their eye contact as he looked to the table in front of him. He frowned and said, “There’s only eleven keys right now.”

“What?”

“There’s only eleven keys right now,” Beomgyu repeated quietly as he explained, “The Leo Key …,” he chewed the inside of his cheek as he tried to find the courage to explain. He took a deep breath as he finally said, “The Leo Key broke during the fight with that green Mage thing.” Beomgyu caught Yeonjun’s immediate glance to him, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at his Dragon Slayer at the moment.

Taehyun stopped for a moment as his eyes searched over Beomgyu before he said, “That might have just saved the entire world, Beomgyu.”

“Leo’s gone, Taehyun,” Beomgyu’s voice had hushed into a whisper, “He’s gone now …what do you mean that might have just saved the entire world?”

“You might have just saved the whole world and you two took out one of the strongest Funeral Wreaths,” Taehyun explained to Beomgyu with a sharp nod, “It’ll make sense in a second.” The blonde Mage made his way to a spot where everyone in the Guild could see him. Since they were unable to have their meeting in their Guild, they had to make do with restaurant portion of a nearby Inn.

Beomgyu sat quietly as he watched Taehyun. He felt someone move next to him but wasn’t surprised to see Yeonjun. “Here,” the older Mage whispered as he put a glass of water in front of Beomgyu, “Drink this, Beomgyu. I’ll get you something to eat after.” Beomgyu felt Yeonjun’s hand against his back gently rubbing small circles – “Yeonjun,” Beomgyu started to say but the Prince shook his head and interrupted with, “We’ll talk later, okay?” The Celestial Mage nodded as he turned his attention over to Taehyun.

“Macabre Grimoire is attempting to open a door,” Taehyun explained as the Guildmembers listened, “They needed the twelve Zodiac keys, which was why they’ve been so desperate to capture Beomgyu and whichever Celestial Mages they thought had the Zodiac keys …but they failed to realize that Beomgyu nearly had half the keys until recently.”

Although Beomgyu had always been proud of being a Celestial Mage, right now, he felt embarrassed to even consider himself as one. Everything that he’d done in the past few weeks was nothing that he could let himself be proud of. The guilt seeped into him, tensed his body up and as it did, he felt Yeonjun’s hand brush against him, trying to calm him.

“I don’t think this will be last time that they’re coming after Beomgyu,” Taehyun continued, “They’re determined to use the Zodiac keys to open the door and bring something here. Macabre Grimoire doesn’t care about whatever agenda the Allantrez Kingdom has – they’re honestly just using them to carry out their own plans.”

“What are they trying to bring here?” Hueningkai chimed in as he looked up from the food he’d ordered. He spoke between bites as he asked, “What would they be able to bring here?”

Taehyun looked at him and smirked, “It’s a good thing that we’ve got Dragon Slayers here.”

“Dragons?” Kai shouted as he dropped his utensils on his plate. “They’re trying to summon Dragons?”

Beomgyu tried his best to pay attention to the meeting the Guild was having but his mind and heart had lost interest in the conversation. The Celestial Mage knew he had an important part to play during the upcoming battle – they had stressed his name so many times and mentioned some strategies to complete, but Beomgyu couldn’t recall anything that was said. He felt guilty for not paying attention while Taehyun had risked so much to get them this information, but his mind kept wandering back to the Zodiac key that couldn’t be fixed.

“What if we attacked first?” Yeonjun spoke up, “I know I’m not in your Guild or have any idea about the way your teams work, but what if we attack first instead of waiting for them to attack?”

“It could work. The element of surprise could give us an advantage.”

“The only thing that worries me is that their numbers are much more than us. They have so many soldiers and Mages at their disposable. On top of that, they have the weaponized Magic.”

“We’re a strong Guild but we’ve got less numbers than they do.”

Taehyun shook his head and said, “I can get you an army to help. Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.” He grinned, “Macabre Grimoire has a large number of prisoners that want to take them down just as badly as we do.” He nodded, “I’ll bring them tomorrow night after I check in with Macabre.”

No one questioned how Taehyun would bring them an army – whenever the blonde Mage said he would do something; it would get done. Taehyun had always been one of the most dependable members.

“Do a two-prong attack,” Taehyun suggested, “We’ll have a new army to attack from the front and then I can take some of you guys into Macabre’s base to attack. You can decide how the teams unfold by tomorrow night. I need to get back to them before they get suspicious.”

* * *

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to Macabre?” Soobin asked as he reached for Taehyun’s hand. The moment their Guild meeting ended, he tried to catch Taehyun alone. “You could have told me, Taehyun. I was so worried.”

“I know,” Taehyun said as he stopped. He turned to face Soobin, “But I also know that you wouldn’t have agreed to me going anywhere Macabre.”

Taehyun wasn’t wrong – Soobin would have rejected the suggestion immediately. The danger from Macabre Grimoire was something that Soobin believed everyone should have avoided. If he was honest, he felt betrayed that Taehyun hadn’t told him.

“You should have told me still …,” Soobin frowned.

“I thought about it, but you have this sense of respect for Macabre. I know you don’t intend to, but you hold them on this high pedestal, Soobin,” Taehyun explained as he held Soobin’s hand, “I know it’s impossible to shake it off, especially with what they’ve done but they don’t control you anymore. The more you keep that guilt they caused, the more you’re going to continue to be controlled by them.”

A wave of realization swept through Soobin – his eyes opened as Taehyun’s words settled in him. Taehyun might have been younger than him, but Soobin had a lot to learn from him. He nodded quietly at Taehyun.

“Tomorrow,” Taehyun said, “Meet me again, okay?”

“Of course,” Soobin agreed as he pulled Taehyun into a hug. He sighed, “I’m sorry you have to carry all of the burden on your own, Taehyun.”

Taehyun shook his head as he let himself relax into the hug. “I …I found some information on the boy you mentioned,” Taehyun revealed, “I think he’s still alive. They don’t have his name on there, just …just a number: 13091991”

“Taehyun, you’re amazing,” Soobin said with surprise, “I don’t know how you’re able to do what you’re doing. You’re so fearless.”

“Actually, I’m terrified,” Taehyun admitted with a nervous smile. He took a deep breath, “I’m so scared for what could happen if I mess up and that’s why I’m working so hard. I have people that I want to protect. I want to protect you.”

* * *

“I was wondering where you went off to.”

Beomgyu turned his head to see Yeonjun walking toward him. Even in the midnight hour and with sleepiness tempting him, Yeonjun looked so regal. Beomgyu looked up at his boyfriend and gave him a smile as he said what they both knew, “I couldn’t sleep. I like to sit here and think sometimes.”

The rooftop of Beomgyu’s apartment overlooked the town. From where it was, he could see all the way to the stream behind where the Guild building should have been; he could see where the shop owners would put what they sold on display along the street; he could see the town center where he’d watched Hueningkai and Soobin play with the kids in the town; he could see the place that he now called home. Beomgyu sighed as he pulled his knees close to his chest – he couldn’t remove anxiousness and frustration that nestled themselves in his expression.

Beomgyu was thankful that Yeonjun didn’t ask how he was feeling. He didn’t have an answer.

“Is it okay if we stay out here for a bit before we go to bed?” Beomgyu asked as he felt Yeonjun sit behind him. He leaned back into Yeonjun, resting his head against the crook of Yeonjun’s neck; he relaxed as he felt Yeonjun’s arms settle around him – a simple reminder that at this moment, he was safe from everything.

“Yeonjun,” Beomgyu broke their comfortable silence, “Do you think I’m a bad Mage?” As he felt Yeonjun scoff, Beomgyu’s lips jutted out into a pout, “Don’t do that. Answer my question. Don’t you think I’m a bad Mage?”

“What makes you think you’re a bad Mage?”

“I …lost my own Celestial Spirit, Yeonjun. I wasn’t able to do anything to prevent it from happening. I think that’s proof enough that I am bad Mage,” Beomgyu decided.

“First of all, I think you’ve been through a lot of things in such a short amount of time without being given a chance to process any of it and that’s why you’re getting into your head like this. I get it because it’s easy to just put off trying to understand what you’re feeling, especially with what’s happening right now. But Beomgyu, you know I’m right here for you,” Yeonjun started off. He didn’t give Beomgyu a chance to respond, “But to answer your question, I don’t think you’re a bad Mage at all.”

“Why?”

“Baby, do you realize how incredible of a Celestial Mage you are? You’ve bonded with your Spirits so much that they are willing to cross over from their world to ours in order to protect you,” Yeonjun clarified, “Do you know how amazing you are for being able to do that? You’ve become a Celestial Mage that Celestial Spirits would go beyond anything length to protect – Toto literally transforms into a giant bird so he can carry you to safety at any command and he’s one of your newest Spirits.”

That somber feeling that lingered in Beomgyu’s heart started to soften as he listened to Yeonjun. Beomgyu looked up at Yeonjun. He wondered how the Prince figured out how to lighten the guilt that had filled him so quickly.

“Besides,” Yeonjun continued, “What Leo did? That was one of the biggest displays of love that I’d ever seen or heard.” He sighed and said, “When his key returns to our world, I’ll make sure you’re able to reunite with him again.”

“Even if he teases you?” Beomgyu looked up at Yeonjun.

“I don’t care if he teases me. He took care of you long before I came into the picture. I actually owe him a lot for it. Plus, he’s your loyal Celestial Spirit and that’s more than enough for me to want to reunite the two of you,” Yeonjun said as he kissed the top of Beomgyu’s head, “I hate when you’re sad.”

There were different ways to tell someone you loved them and Beomgyu could feel how much Yeonjun loved him.

“After we survive all of this,” Yeonjun determined aloud, “I’m taking you on a vacation. I think we deserve one after everything settles down.”

Beomgyu let out a soft laugh, “We’re about to sneak into the enemy base soon and you’re thinking of taking me on a vacation? Must be nice, Yeonjun. Must be nice.”

“What? Like you don’t want to go on vacation with me? I look great relaxing,” Yeonjun said, “You’ve never seen me on a beach, baby. Trust me, a vacation will be worth it. I think, we should definitely go to Altimira.”

“Altimira?”

“Oh, I forgot, you’re from the country. You’ve never be—ouch,” Yeonjun stared as he rubbed the side of his ribs where Beomgyu elbowed him, “ _Rude_ , but Altimira’s one of our southern islands. It’s a resort island and it’s beautiful all year round. I’m pretty sure they have a spell on it to keep warm all year. If not Altimira, we should go to Flanoir, up in the northeast. It’s a little chilly but it’s beautiful. There’s these ice caves that have hot springs in the center of it. When you’re in the hot springs and you look up, the ice caves are surreal. I think you’d like it. They also have the best ramen you could ever imagine.”

Beomgyu finally smiled and sighed, “I’ll go anywhere you go, Yeonjun.” He grinned and said, “You’re paying though. You’re the Prince.”

Yeonjun nodded with quiet amusement, “Of course.”

“Speaking of money, I’m going to need to you to start some rent since you’ve been staying in my apartment rent-free, boyfriend,” Beomgyu glared at him, “I haven’t done a job since you came into the picture and I’m pretty sure my landlady is looking for any reason to make me pay extra.”

“I’ll just buy the apartment,” Yeonjun said.

“ _Wow,_ flex on me some more. Geeze, must be nice to be royalty,” Beomgyu laughed.

Tomorrow, they could worry about Macabre Grimoire and the Dragons.

Tonight, Beomgyu was going to let himself relax for a few hours and enjoy the company of his love – at the very least, he thought that he deserved that much.

* * *

“Ah, Taehyun, you’re back late,” the Macabre Grimoire Guild Master greeted him, “I was worried that you’d have betrayed us and went back to your old Guild.”

“I told you, I’m playing to win,” Taehyun responded with a casual shrug, “I don’t like to lose.”

“I know and that’s what I like about you, King of Hearts,” the Guild Master grinned as he walked toward the boy. He put an arm around Taehyun and started, “Our prisoners are getting a little rowdy, a little _too_ crowded.” The Master’s guilds curled into a sinister smile as he asked, “Will you take care of them once more, Taehyunnie? I did ever so enjoy hearing them scream as you sent them into another dimension. I love seeing your resolve.”

As the door slammed open, Taehyun and the Guild Master turned to see a very frantic expression. Despite the hood on the Mage, his panic was easily spotted. Between the gasps for breath, the Mage finally said, “The Gemini Key is missing, my Master. It disappeared.”

“How can a Zodiac key disappear?” Taehyun asked before Macabre’s Master had the chance to. His brows furrowed as he acted, “It doesn’t make any sense. How could something that important just disappear?”

“Exactly, our King of Hearts is correct,” the Master agreed as he removed his arm from Taehyun’s shoulders. He walked toward the Mage, “Are you sure it’s the Gemini key that has disappeared?”

The rattled Mage nodded slowly, unable to meet the Guild Master’s eyes. “We’ve checked for it several times and the Gemini key is not present anymore.”

“Oh-ho,” the Master quizzically raised an eyebrow as he slowly gazed upon the Mage. He smiled as he asked, “Taehyunnie, what do you think could have happened to the Gemini key?”

Taehyun’s eyes went from the Master to the Mage. He simply said, “Honestly, I think we might have a traitor in our midst. I’ve had an inkling since _someone_ suggested that we attack the BH Guild straight on. We ended up losing Basil and Lady Guinevere at the same time.” Unlike most of the people at Macabre Grimoire, whenever Taehyun spoke, there was a sense of sincerity and that made it easy for him to convince the Guild Master that he wasn’t lying. Taehyun sighed, “I know it sounds like I’m putting such high praise on to the BH Mages, but the seven Virtues are all currently present. We were ill-prepared for an attack like that.”

The Guild Master clapped his hands together as he pointed at Taehyun, “See, that’s a man of honesty there.” He smiled as he turned to face the Mage, “I agree that there is a traitor here. You have one hour to find the Gemini key or I’ll have Taehyun take care of you just like the prisoners.”

“It’s amazing how quickly you managed to gain the favor of our Guild Master.”

In the BH Guild, it was well-known that Taehyun could easily adapt to any situation. Despite his age, his adaptability had earned him high praises and recognition from the Virtues and even their own Guild Master; he might not be known as one of the more powerful Mages, but because he was smart, he was one of the most formidable Mages in the BH Guild. He was even on the shortlist for their Guild’s S-Class Rank test later on in the year. Taehyun knew how to play his cards correctly.

“I always play to win,” Taehyun replied to the ex-Crowned Queen of Chronos. It was hard to believe that this was the woman who had partially raised Yeonjun – luckily, the Prince seemed to lack every trait that this woman had. He followed behind her as she led him toward the dungeons. “Why are you all still filling the dungeons still?”

“Mana Drain,” she tossed her answer at him.

Taehyun rolled his eyes, “I don’t understand why they keep Mana Draining random Mages. They haven’t figured out that only certain Mana is compatible with the things they’re trying to open?”

If Taehyun was honest, one of the reasons why the Macabre’s Guild Master took a liking to him was simply because he could understand what they needed to do. He wondered if all Dark Guild were this full of mindless followers. Although he knew better than to compare them to BH Guild’s colorful cast of Mages, he was thankful the Guild his loyalty was at didn’t have a lack of mental capacity like Macabre.

“They’re bored,” the ex-Queen of Chronos replied, “It’s alright though. Some of these prisoners have switched to our side. So, our numbers continue to grow but the rest of them aren’t important to us.” She looked to Taehyun, “Do take care of them.” The woman stepped aside and let Taehyun enter the dungeons. “Send them off again like last time,” she nodded, “I’ll head back to the center of the Guild. Let us know when you’ve finished, King of Hearts.”

 _King of Hearts_ – the title made Taehyun scoff.

“Of course, my Lady,” Taehyun said as he gave her a bow.

The blonde Mage waited until he was certain the woman was away. He walked down the aisles of the Macabre Grimoire dungeons as he took inventory of the people they’d capture; plenty of Mages with varying classes and Magic styles, none of them were Celestial Mages he noted. Taehyun stuck his hands into his jacket pocket as he retrieved blank decks.

“You have two options,” Taehyun said loud enough for the prisoners to listen, “Your first option is to ignore what I’m about to say to you and die by Macabre Grimoire’s hand.” He heard the curses that came from the prisoners; he smirked at their jeers as he looked around. “But I think you should choose option two: I’ll send you to _another dimension_ for a few hours and bring you to bring you to **_my_** Guild. My Guild needs your help to bring down Macabre Grimoire and I think you all want a little revenge, don’t you?”

* * *

“Don’t be nervous,” Hueningkai ran up to Soobin and began to rub his belly, “I know you’re nervous. I can see it in your face. I’ll make you not nervous.”

A small smile tugged on Beomgyu’s lips as he watched the other play around. It was impossible not to be nervous when they were about to go on the offensive; they’d been waiting for Macabre to make the first move before, defending when it was their only option.

“Here, Beomgyu, you stop being nervous too,” Kai bounded for Beomgyu and sat beside him. He reached over and rubbed Beomgyu’s belly, “All the nervousness will go away.”

“Why do I think you’re the most nervous?” Beomgyu asked as he looked at Kai. He reached for Kai’s belly, “Okay, my turn. Nervousness go away and go back to Soobin!”

“Why are you throwing the nerves back to me?” Soobin shouted in surprise.

“Instinct,” Beomgyu grinned, “I missed being the one to cause your suffering.” He stuck his tongue out at Soobin, “I can’t wait for all of this to be over so I can be the only one giving you a hard time, Soobin.”

Soobin took the seat across from Beomgyu as he nodded, “It felt so much simpler when we were just trying to catch the pickpocket in the city, you know?” He looked at Beomgyu and laughed, “I can’t believe the first time we met, you got mad at me for interrupting your soli-soliqu—”

“My soliloquy,” Beomgyu stopped rubbing Kai’s belly and put his hand over his heart. With his free hand, he placed the back of it over his forehead, “My internal personal anguish that you interrupted because your giant self couldn’t see the people below you.” Beomgyu could not wait to get back to having days that were like this.

* * *

Taehyun came at a little past 9 that night.

“So, this is what you meant by bringing us an army,” Beomgyu observed as he watched Taehyun release Mages from his decks of cards. Magic was truly one of the best things on this planet, Beomgyu decided as he nodded his head slowly. “That’s a lot of people,” he pointed out, “Are they willing to help the frontal attack?”

“They want to beat the shit out of Macabre Grimoire,” Taehyun replied, “I’m sure they’re more than willing to assist with any attack as long as they can carry out their revenge.”

“I think everyone wants to have revenge,” Beomgyu spoke – there was a hint of bitter truth in his tone – before he nodded slowly. He scratched the back of his head before he looked at Taehyun, “Are you putting us in your cards and carrying us into their base?”

Taehyun looked at Beomgyu before he said, “You can walk through the front door.”

Beomgyu stared at Taehyun.

Taehyun stared at Beomgyu.

“I hate you sometimes,” Beomgyu shouted as he threw his hands up in the air. He let out an annoyed sound as he walked away, “We’re about to go into battle and you’re literally frustrating.”

“AH!”

Beomgyu looked away from Yeonjun for a moment and over to where the exclamation came from. Taehyun had brought Macabre’s entire prison lot, so Beomgyu wasn’t surprise that there were people that _might_ have known him or any of those close to him. However, his eyebrow raised slowly as he looked back at Yeonjun, “Why do they know you?”

“Um,” Yeonjun peered past Beomgyu, “Oh. It’s those guys.”

“Those guys?”

“Remember when we first met?” Yeonjun asked, “At that bar? Remember the trolls and foul humans that I pissed off?” There was a lightness in voice despite how frantic they’d been at that time. Beomgyu tilted his head to the side as he tried to recall but he couldn’t remember the people. Yeonjun grinned, “I didn’t think we’ve ever run into them again.” He nodded at them as he smirked, “Did you miss us?”

“YJ …,” the group said as they pointed at Yeonjun, “You’ll pay for that! We’ll make you pay for it! As soon as we’re done with Macabre Grimoire, you will pay for it!” Their threats fell to deaf ears as they ran off and mixed in with the rest of the crowd.

Beomgyu turned to Yeonjun, “What _did_ you do?”

Yeonjun’s shoulder rose and fell as he said, “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal but I guess, it was enough for them to hold the grudge.” He snickered, “Ah, I miss Palmacosta.” With a flick of his gaze, he added, “Oh, Palmacosta’s going on our vacation list after this too, by the way. I think you’d look cute on a boat at sunset.”

“You’re corny.”

* * *

The plan split the Guild.

A majority of the Guild (and the army that Taehyun had provided them with) would bring a frontal attack to Macabre Grimoire. While the attack in the front, Taehyun will bring a select group _into_ the base to destroy the door that Macabre is trying to open.

It sounded simple enough …

But nothing ever worked that smoothly – that was a lesson that Beomgyu had learned at the start of his life-altering Magical journey, after all.

* * *

The first part of the plan began first thing in the morning. Initially, they had intended to use the blanket of night to their advantage …but not all of the BH Mages were adept at fighting in the darkness.

Hueningkai saw the first attack – it was from their side.

Taehyung had been the one to cast the proverbial stone into battle. Although, if anyone had been witness to it, it was Taehyung with the encouragement of Jimin _and_ Jungkook – the three of them had been in the front lines and between fond bickering and childish bets, it ended up with a dare for the Earth Mage to kickstart the battle.

For those who have seen Taehyung in battle, it is well known that this man could make the tiniest grain of stand as tough as iron – the man who had been dubbed by Sorcerer Weekly as the most handsome Mage has always been someone whose beauty could match his brutality in battle.

Taehyung extended one of his hands, the index and middle finger outstretched toward Macabre Grimoire’s base – a Casting Circle emerged between his fingers as he did. This prompted a very large arm made of rock – a rock gauntlet – to emerge from the ground beside him. This extension of his arm moved toward the Macabre Grimoire base until it broke through the base’s walls.

“See, it was easy to break,” he playfully said as he turned to face Jimin but his attention returned toward the Mages that came out of Macabre’s base. His eyes widened for a moment before he moved his hands forward – another Casting Circle quickly formed as he twisted his right hand toward him. Before Macabre’s Mages could launch their attacks, Taehyung’s Magic quickly called forward large rock formations from the ground – large, cylindrical pillars mixed with larger rectangular slabs emerged from the ground and formed a shield for all of BH’s Mages.

At Taehyung’s start, Jimin quickly jumped into action. Unlike many of the Mages, Jimin had the ability to create Casting Circles with his feet – the Casting Circles came quickly and Jimin sailed through the air. The moment he was airborne, he became a target for their opponent’s attacks. A sly smirk came to Jimin as he felt the targets on his back. At the snap of his fingers, the wind picked up and Jimin ran above Macabre’s Mages; their attacks missed him but the remnants of their attacks fell onto their own troops.

Quickly, Jimin spun both of his arms in a circular motion with great speed. As he kept spinning his arms, small twisters formed at both of his wrists – the middle of the twisters were hollow so that Jimin could punch his opponents. Should any of the targets dodge, the force of the wind would knock them backward. Jimin playfully flew above their enemies, punching as he went past them. He doubled back, flipping away from an attack aimed at him.

“Oh,” Jimin’s lips turned upward into a playful smirk as he saw the incoming attack. He moved his arms to the right, letting Casting Circles form at his hands before he threw them to the right. A large gust of wind came, forming a tornado full of Mana to block the attacks.

“You’re going to have to try a little harder than that.”

Kai had shifted the moment that Taehyung hit the Macabre Grimoire base. He’d learned long ago that when any battle involved a Virtue, it was important to be prepared for anything. Kai once said that it was because the Virtues were always testing them and keeping them on their toes, but Taehyun corrected, “They just do what entertains them and we have react quick enough to stay alive.” – Taehyun was the correct one, of course.

During his training with Hoseok, they had determined that every shift to an animal that Kai did had a time-limit and if he exceed the time limit, he would lose control – the first shift, Kai counted down the thirty minutes until he needed to switch back. Kai ran to the front of the battlelines, using his strength to physically handle all of the attackers. He picked them up and tossed them aside – the Macabre Mages weren’t as fast at drawing Casting Circles as the BH Guild was, so throwing them in the middle of their casts immediately ended their spells.

_Hueningkai._

Kai looked up – where was that voice coming?

_Hueningkai, please help. Please help us._

Kai looked around for the voice, searching for where it came from. He swore he heard it but as he looked around, it seemed that no one else heard it. Everyone’s focus was on the field, focused on fighting but Kai swore he heard –

_Hueningkai, please help. We need your help, please help us ~ Please help._

Kai followed where the voice was coming from, stepping away from the battle. He slowly shifted back into his human form as he followed the sweet, siren voice. It sounded so lovely, so warm and so promising; he wasn’t sure who it belonged to, just that he needed to go and help them.

* * *

Soobin swore he had just saw Hueningkai on the field, but in split second, he lost the younger Mage. He let out an annoyed groan as he scanned the immediate area again – _nothing_. His lips pressed into a line before they twisted in annoyance. He squatted down next to one of their fallen members, “I’m here, I’m here.” He gently calmed them as he formed Casting Circles in his hands to begin the healing process, “Just give me a few minutes, I’ll take care of this.”

The blue-haired Healer had been given the option to join the siege inside Macabre Grimoire’s base, but Soobin declined – he didn’t think he had the courage to enter there. Taehyun had mentioned that he still held Macabre Grimoire to the history he had with them and right now, he knew he couldn’t shake them off. He would do more for their side as a healer on the battlefield …however, he looked around as the numbers of their injured members started to increase more dramatically. Something was off.

Most of the Virtues were at the front lines – he could see Seokjin’s Magic from where he was and he could feel the rumble of Taehyung’s Magic too, they were doing everything they could to push back the attackers. However …why were people fall—

“No,” Soobin whispered as the realization hit. He squinted, adjusting his eyes to pick up the small Mana particles in the air. He shook his head, “Why is Merda’s Magic still here?” As soon as he finished healing his guildmate, Soobin stood up and sent the warning, “Don’t breathe in the air! It’s poison!”

The warning fell to deaf ears.

A thicket of dark purple mist slowly filled their environment and made its way into their side.

“Stop breathing it in,” Soobin called out as he ushered people away from, “Don’t breathe it in! It’s poison! It’s poison!” His warning didn’t make it past the sounds of fighting and spell-casting. Soobin ran to those who breathed in the purple mist – the veins around their eyes began to puff up before they began to cough, droplets of blood trickled down the side of their mouth.

“Magical Barrier Particles,” Soobin looked up at the voice, “Remember working on these with Merda, Soobinie?” The Macabre Grimoire Guild Master had stood in front of Soobin. He smiled at Soobin so fondly that it made Soobin sick, “They’re actually one of the best things that Merda ever created with your blood – poisonous particles that feed off the Mana of the people who breathe it in. The more Mana they have, the more powerful the poison is.” He smiled at Soobin, “So, the question is: how are you going to prevent this from hurting your friends?”

Soobin’s fist clenched and unclenched as he looked at Macabre’s Master. How could man be this sinister? These particles affect everyone, including Macabre’s own Mages.

Macabre Grimoire’s Guild Master stood in front of him – the expression his face was so bright, so happy like a child blowing on a pinwheel. The man held his hand out a ball of dark purple in the center of it, the particles flew out from it; he playfully blew on the dark purple orb as if it would make the poison spread faster.

In battles, any moment could alter the outcome and Soobin knew that the more he waited, the faster the tide of the battle would change.

Soobin rushed to where Macabre’s Guild Master stood and ate the dark purple orb.

“Oh-ho,” Macabre’s Master let out an amused laugh as he watched Soobin fall to the ground, clutching his stomach. He giggled, “Oh, Soobinie, I did not expect that from you. I thought you would have wavered a little longer.” He squated down and pet Soobin’s hair, “You were always my favorite test subject, but let’s have you meet my other favorite wild-card. A reunion between the two of you should be interest.” He grinned as he ruffled Soobin’s hair, “Do try to stay alive until I see this.”

* * *

Taehyun stood in the room where the door had been. He closed his eyes as he tried his best to rub the growing headache. The blonde Mage let out the slowest of breaths as he realized, “Where the fuck did Yeonjun and Beomgyu go?”

As he opened his eyes, Taehyun wished and prayed that the of them would be right there behind him ready to assist him with helping take care of the door – that was the original plan, after all. Taehyun had brought the four Dragon Slayers – Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok and Yeonjun – along with a few other strong Guildmembers and Beomgyu, who was in charge of helping remove the Zodiac keys on the door. When they arrived, the three older Dragon Slayers and their other Guildmates were to create distractions so that Taehyun, Yeonjun and Beomgyu could work on the Zodiac keys at the door … so, that left one question: “Where the fuck did those two idiots go?”

Taehyun let out the most exasperated sigh that he could let out as he shut his eyes.

“It’s frustrating, isn’t it, Taehyunnie?” The blonde Mage turned slowly to see Macabre Grimoire’s Guild Master standing there. He had a hand on his hip as he smiled at Taehyun, “Isn’t it annoying when a plan that you worked so hard to complete is set off by some meddling kids who don’t know any better?”

“I know enough to be certain that we don’t need Dragons rampaging in this world,” Taehyun responded with a slight shrug, “So, I don’t know what the problem is with that.”

“Oh-ho, you’re so silly,” he grinned at Taehyun, “The Dragons are the least of your problems, Taehyun.” The Guild Master stepped forward and then aside to reveal a limp Soobin on the ground. “I think, our favorite healer is in a bit of pain,” he smiled at the blonde Mage, “I know he’s a bigger priority that the door, wouldn’t you say?”

“Soobin!” Taehyun cried out as he ran past the Guild Master. He fell to his knees, knelt beside Soobin – the older Mage gasped for air. “What happened? What’s going on? What did you do to him?” Taehyun shouted as he looked at the Guild Master, “What did you do?”

“He’s the one that the Magical Barrier Particles. He should be fine,” the Guild Master smiled, “It’s made from his blood, after all. Besides, the main show hasn’t started yet. I need him to be alive when we do the final reveal, Taehyunnie.”

* * *

“Beomgyu, are you fucking kidding me?”

The Celestial Mage glared at his boyfriend. Beomgyu pulled his arm away from Yeonjun as he glared at him, “Yeonjun, stop treating me like I’m going to break. I’m not that fragile! I can handle fighting Mages right now. So, stop babying me!”

There was a plan but Beomgyu lost track of it a long time ago. When they arrived with Taehyun, Beomgyu decided he would kill the Guild Master on his own. He normally did not condone that behavior, but it was this Master’s fault that he was suffering so much; this Guild Master caused Beomgyu so many tears that at this point, the Celestial Mage was ready to do everything to get his revenge.

After Taehyun released them from the cards, Beomgyu immediately wandered away from the group. His agenda had him down a different path. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to slip past Yeonjun.

“Fighting Mages isn’t the problem, Beomgyu,” Yeonjun spat out in frustration. Beomgyu watched as Yeonjun’s brows knitted with anger. The older Mage let out an annoyed breath before he said, “The problem is that you’re acting recklessly. Like you don’t care.”

“I do care,” Beomgyu insisted, “That’s why I’m going to murder this Guild Master.”

“You don’t even know where you’re going.”

“I’m going to kill him. That’s what I’m going to do, so stop acting like I’m a child that needs you to babysit me,” Beomgyu shouted, “Let me do this. Let me do what I have to do.”

“I would, but you’re acting so reckless. You don’t know where you’re going, you don’t know what you’re going to do and you don’t even know what the Guild Master’s powers are,” Yeonjun pointed out every flaw to Beomgyu’s plans. “You could get hurt or even worse, Beomgyu.”

“That’s not going to happen, I won’t let it happen, Yeonjun. I’m strong enough to handle these things.”

“Stop acting recklessly,” Yeonjun demanded, “Don’t you even think about what would happen if you get hurt? What if you die? What would happen?”

“I’m not going to get hurt or die,” Beomgyu shouted back, “You’re just worrying for no reason. I can do this just fine.”

“No, you can’t because you’re not even thinking right now. You’re processing your grieving into anger and just acting off whim,” Yeonjun shook his head. He sighed and said, “What am I supposed to do if you get hurt, Beomgyu? What if you die? How am I supposed to just let that happen?”

“Yeonjun.”

The Prince shook his head, “If I’m not a good enough reason for you think twice before acting recklessly, what about your Celestial Spirits? What are they supposed to do if their Celestial Mage is harmed?”

“Hold up, what the fuck do you mean you’re not a good enough reason?” Beomgyu shouted at the Dragon Slayer.

In the midst of their argument, Macabre Grimoire’s mages started to gather around them. The pair hadn’t noticed – their focus was only on each other, both of them pouring out their frustration in a very ill-timed yelling match.

“Yeonjun!”

“Beomgyu!”

Beomgyu folded his arms over his chest as he glared at the older Mage. He tapped his foot on the ground, anxious to get away from him before he shouted back, “You have to let me do this, Yeonjun. I need to. I need to do this as Leo’s Celestial Mage.”

“Do you even understand why I’m so mad at your reckless behavior?”

“Why? Because it’s annoying to have to babysit your boyfriend on the battlefield?”

“Because I love you and I don’t want you to get hurt because you’re running on the stream of revenge,” Yeonjun revealed as he licked his lips in annoyance. He shook his head, “Apparently, that’s not good enough for you to think twice.”

“… you’re yelling at me because you love me?” Beomgyu asked quietly before the sounds of them being circled interrupted. He let out an annoyed sound as he looked at the Mages about to head to them, “Listen, my boyfriend and I are having our very first, very serious argument. This is a milestone moment for us and you’re literally interrupting us.”

“Seriously,” Yeonjun added as he disappointedly shook his head at the Mages, “Weren’t any of you raised with manners? What is wrong with all of you? I swear, Dark Guild Mages just get more and more degenerate.”

“I know, it’s like they see two people in the middle of something very important,” Beomgyu ran his fingers through his hair frustratedly, “They’re just interrupting.” He sighed before he looked over at Yeonjun, “Just one second, Yeonjun. We can continue after they’re out.”

Yeonjun cracked his knuckles as he slowly turned around to face the Mages. He tilted his head left and right before he settled himself calmly. He clapped his hands together, letting the Casting Circles emerge on both ends – lightning crackled as he separated his hands.

Beomgyu reached for the Aquarius key – he flipped it in the air before he caught it and completed the ritual: “ ** _Aquarius Star Armor_**.” At the end of the transformation, Beomgyu landed on his feet – he donned silver armor with light blue, iridescent flecks that shifted around like flowing water. Unlike his previous weapons, his weapon in the Aquarius Armor was a sharply formed trident. He twisted the weapon before he hit the bottom of it on the ground.

By now, Beomgyu had learned to embed his Mana into his weapon – the tips of the trident began to glow as he filled it with his Mana. He spun the weapon above his head before he began his attack. The trident was heavier than the swords he had used during practice, so he had to adjust his fight style. He worried that he’d be too open during this but for every opening he had, Yeonjun blocked it for him. Although Yeonjun had more mastery in battle than Beomgyu, the Celestial Mage was able to protect any openings that left Yeonjun vulnerable.

It was a dance between them, one that was an ultimate test of trust and faith. For every push, Yeonjun was there to pull – when Yeonjun missed the chance to dodge, Beomgyu was there to block him from it.

They were surrounded by the Macabre Grimoire Mages.

“You know,” Yeonjun said, “They messed up.”

“They did,” Beomgyu smiled as he felt Yeonjun’s back against his, “They should have never put us in the middle of them again. I guess, they’re just not that smart.”

“Dark Mages,” Yeonjun shook his head.

Beomgyu grinned as he put both hands on the handle of the trident. Casting Circles were formed in his hands as he put his Mana into the trident. Once the head of the trident was brightly lit with his Mana, Beomgyu lifted the weapon into the air and slammed it into the ground three times before a powerful wave of water submerged the Dark Mages.

“You missed! That didn’t do anything!” One of the Dark Mages boldly shouted.

“He didn’t miss,” Yeonjun grinned as he looked at the Dark Mage, “He set the foundation for me.” The Dragon Slayer of Lightning snapped his fingers once, twice and three times as three powerful bolts of lightning hit the water that Beomgyu had spread.

Water conducted electricity.

“So,” Beomgyu started as he took off the Aquarius Armor, “You were yelling at me because you love me?” He looked up at Yeonjun, “I love you too. I’ll be more careful. I won’t be as reckless.”

“Of course, I love you,” Yeonjun smiled, “Good, that’s all I ask. I’m willing to help you get your revenge, just ask me. It’ll be easier.”

“You be safe too,” Beomgyu said, “If you keep running to protect me, you’re going to get hurt. I can’t do that again, Yeonjun.”

“I think, if you and I work together,” Yeonjun titled his head, gesturing toward the fallen Dark Mages around them, “We’ll fine, Beomgyu.”

This time, Beomgyu was the one who stepped up and stole a kiss from Yeonjun. He smiled into their kisses before he took Yeonjun’s hand and sighed happily, “They should have just let us argue. They wouldn’t be down there if they did.”

“Yeah,” Yeonjun agreed, “Aren’t we supposed to help Taehyun with something?”

“Oh, shoot, you’re right!” Beomgyu said as he pointed to a random direction, “He’s probably over there. We should hurry, huh?”

“Fate of the world stuff, right?” Yeonjun noted as he walked alongside Beomgyu. They both carefully stepped over the Mages they’d fought.

“So, when you were thinking twins,” Beomgyu brought up as they walked toward the direction he’d picked, “Were they fraternal or identical? Because I was thinking that we should have at least one daughter. We already have the youngest that looks like me. So, I think we should have one daughter. If she had your eyes, she’d be so lovely.”

Yeonjun laughed – no matter what happened, at least, Beomgyu was still Beomgyu.

* * *

“Taehyun,” Beomgyu ran to where the blonde Mage knelt beside Soobin. He fell to his knees as he reached for the blue-haired healer, “What happened? What’s going on with Soobin?”

Every time that Beomgyu had ever seen Taehyun, he’d always known the younger Mage to be composed and collected. However, Taehyun was anything but composed and collected – the younger Mage’s eyes flickered with panic, bouncing from Beomgyu to Soobin to Yeonjun and back to Soobin. There was a veil of fear that glossed over his eyes as he said, “He ate some poison particles or something …I don’t know. Macabre’s Guild Master did this. He’s the one who did this to Soobin.”

“I didn’t do this to Soobin,” the Guild Master smiled, “I didn’t tell him to eat the poison. He did that on his own.” He shrugged as he walked toward the door. His fingers brushed against the three Zodiac keys embedded in the door, “He should be fine. We made that poison with his blood.” He grinned, “Besides, my favorite part is about to start.”

Soobin groaned – his eyes shut tightly as he moved his hand over his chest. He pat it a few times, despite Taehyun’s cries for him to stop moving. Soobin pressed his hand on his stomach as he opened a Casting Circle. His labored breathing slowed down as he put his Mana into the Casting Circle. For a moment, he groaned in pain as he felt the poison particles seize him from inside but this was part of him – he could make it work for him instead. His Magic went internally to return the poison particles into their original form: his blood.

“I’m okay,” he breathed out as he sat up. Taehyun scrambled against him, trying to help prop him up. Soobin gave him a small smile, “Weren’t we trying to keep me from getting here?” Taehyun forced a small smile as he nodded.

“Holy shit,” Beomgyu instinctively punched Soobin’s shoulder with as much love as he could muster, “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Don’t punch him,” Taehyun said as _he_ punched Beomgyu’s shoulder. “He almost died right now.”

Macabre Grimoire’s Guild Master laughed as he clapped his hands. He grinned like a child as he said, “It’s finally time for my favorite part.”

Beomgyu didn’t like this Guild Master already. However, the way this Guild Master was acting repulsed Beomgyu even more – _why was acting like this was a game or a show_? The Celestial Mage glared at the Guild Master, unsure of why the man was being so strange in front of them.

“First of all,” the Master smiled as he snapped his fingers, “Let’s set the stage. Remove the love interests.” He moved his fingers, separating them and in doing so, he pushed Beomgyu and Taehyun to one side of the large room. In a snap of his fingers, the ground beneath the two of them shot up, putting them as far up as possible. “You two stay put,” he commanded Beomgyu and Taehyun. The Master grinned as he walked over to Yeonjun and Soobin.

“Now, let’s set the stage,” he continued. He gestured to Yeonjun as he explained, “The boy who could not do Magic finally reunites with the boy who saw his mother last.” He gestured toward Soobin before his grin widened as he clapped his hands, “But don’t forget, my dearest Soobin wasn’t just the only one who saw her last. He’s the one who put her to sleep, permanently.”

They all shared the same shocked expression.

Yeonjun’s eyes widen, his pupils shook as he looked from the Guild Master and then slowly at Soobin. He took a step back as his could feel his head spin. The Prince couldn’t figure out the words to say. He stepped back as he blinked, trying to calm whatever mess had happened in his mind.

Soobin looked up at Yeonjun, worry and guilt traced every feature of his face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” was all that Soobin could say. Even he knew that the apology could never make up for what he had done. He looked up at Yeonjun, “I didn’t know. I was so young at the time, I didn’t know any better. I’m sorry.”

“You killed her,” the words choked out of Yeonjun as he looked at Soobin, “You killed my mom.”

“I didn’t know,” Soobin looked smaller than he’d ever been as he tried to apologize to the Yeonjun, “I didn’t know what did. I didn’t know …I didn’t.”

The Guild Master moved behind Yeonjun as he whispered, “He knew he killed her and he still stood by your side. A murderer who keeps trying to get a second chance. I don’t think he deserves it, not since he killed your mother.”

The crackle of lightning echoed in the room.

“Yeonjun!” Beomgyu called out as he tried to move from where the Guild Master had placed him and Taehyun. The Celestial Mage looked at Taehyun, “Come on, let’s go. We have to save them. That Guild Master is trying to make them fight each other.”

Taehyun frowned as he nodded, “Those two idiots are actually going to fight each other if we don’t get there.” He forced himself to stand up, “Soobin needs to rest.”

“Yeonjun would win though,” Beomgyu pointed out, “I know we’re not here for that, but he would win.”

Taehyun stared at Beomgyu. He blinked and slowly reached up to smack the back of Beomgyu’s head, “Our boyfriends are about to fight each other and that’s what you’re thinking?”

“I’m just saying the truth,” Beomgyu muttered as he walked to the edge of the platform they were at.

“That’s only if Soobin doesn’t activate his Pestilence Grip,” Taehyun finally responded as he looked down. They were farther up than he expected. He sighed and said, “Jump on the count of three. One ---”

Beomgyu jumped after one. There was no plan, Beomgyu was the King of Improv when it came to fighting. He looked back to see that Taehyun had jumped after him too. Beomgyu twisted his body to face Taehyun, he gave him a thumbs up. After he gave Taehyun the gesture of approval, Beomgyu reached into his pocket and pulled out the Celestial key to summon Toto.

“Toto,” Beomgyu smiled as the bird flittered around him, “Can you help me and Taehyun out?”

Yeonjun wasn’t sure why he felt the need to fight Soobin. The Prince was normally able to control himself from this, but everything in him urged him to fight the blue-haired healer. But why? Why would he want to fight him? The crackle of lightning answered the question he didn’t ask aloud.

“Yeonjun, I’m so sorry,” Soobin apologized again as he looked up at him, “I know that won’t solve anything and I know that can’t bring her back, but I am so sorry.”

Yeonjun wanted to accept the apology, but he couldn’t say it.

The Dark Guild Master stood next to Yeonjun, grinning at the Prince as he nodded, “You shouldn’t forgive him, my dear Prince. He’s the monster that killed your mother. Are you going to let him get away with it?”

“Hey, asshole!!” Beomgyu shouted as Toto flew them down, “Get away from my boyfriend!”

The Dark Guild Master looked up at the Celestial Mage as he waved his hand in the air, “Be gone, pest!” With the flick of his wrist, a gust of air tried to push Toto aside but the bird did not want to let Beomgyu down – Toto flapped its wings hard to overcome the wind until it was able put both Taehyun and Beomgyu down.

Taehyun took out a deck of cards and filled them with Mana. He threw the cards at the Guild Master, aiming for the man’s heart but the Guild Master stepped back – a small Casting Circle appeared as he summoned a shield from the thrown cards.

The Guild Master shook his head, “You two should have stayed put and let me finish the show. Now, I have to bring our finishing act forward.” He clapped his hands as the ground shook, grumbled with the heavy of something being led to them. The wall collapsed, crashed to the ground in a blend of dust and debris.

Beomgyu’s eyes looked up at the monster headed their way. His eyes widened, not in fear but in surprise as the beast that came to them was one that they all knew.

“Hueningkai?” Beomgyu questioned as he looked at the creature. Why was Hueningkai here? Was here to hel—Beomgyu jumped back as Kai’s giant fists were thrown at them. “Kai!” Beomgyu called out, “What are you do—” He rolled across the floor to avoid being hit.

At this point, Yeonjun snapped out of whatever trance the Guild Master had put him in. He reached over to Soobin helping the younger Mage up, “Get up, Soobin.” Soobin looked at Yeonjun in surprise but nodded, thankful for the older Mage’s help. Yeonjun didn’t react with warmth but said, “We can talk about it later. Let’s get you to safety first.”

Beomgyu immediately noticed that Kai’s eyes weren’t normal – they were red, wild as if he was under …Beomgyu heard a soft giggle flitter in the air. He looked up at Hueningkai’s shoulder – a petite, pink woman sat pleasantly there. She smiled as she winked at Beomgyu before she opened her mouth to sing, to call out for Kai to do what she wanted him to. Beomgyu’s eyes widened – he heard that voice before: the voice of the Mage that stole Gemini from him.

“You bitch,” Beomgyu shouted as he tried to run toward her, but Hueningkai’s fists were thrown at him again. The Celestial Mage felt rage swell as he tried to avoid being hit; he immediately tried to reach for the woman, but he kept being blocked by Hueningkai. “I’m going to kill her,” Beomgyu began to shout but was grabbed by Taehyun, “Taehyun, let me go.”

“No, you’re being a moron,” Taehyun said as he pushed Beomgyu back, “Go help Yeonjun and Soobin.”

“No,” Beomgyu pointed at the Mage on Kai’s shoulder, “She’s the Mage that stole Gemini.”

“You have Gemini back, why are yo--,” Taehyun was cut off as Kai grabbed him. The blonde Mage squirmed from Kai’s grip in an attempt to free himself, “Kai, Kai. It’s me, it’s Taehyun.”

Taehyun’s voice caused Kai to tilt his head but the pink woman continued to sing. Kai’s grip on Taehyun tightened, squeezed until there was a small crack – Taehyun felt his arm break.

“Kai, it’s Taehyun. I’m your best friend, remember?” Taehyun winced through the pain as he looked into Kai’s eyes, “This isn’t you. That woman is controlling you, Kai. Please remember. It’s Taehyun.”

“Tae …hyun,” the name came out as a mix between a growl and a roar as Kai’s mind tried to pry him away from the control. “Tae …hyun.”

The pink woman’s eyebrows knitted in frustration as she stood up on Kai’s shoulder. She stomped her feet and opened her mouth to embed her song into Kai’s mind.

 _“ **REGULUS IMPACT**_.”

A bright beam of light shot through the air in the shape of a lion. The beam hit the petite, pink woman sending her off Hueningkai’s shoulder. As flew off, Hueningkai shifted back into his human form. The moment Taehyun landed, he ran over to Kai, “Kai, I’m here. You’re okay.” Taehyun sat down beside Kai, as he held his own arm. It didn’t take much time for Soobin to settle beside their two youngest Mages; he immediately began the healing process on them.

Beomgyu slowly turned around to face a very well-dressed man. The man took his sunglasses off as wiped them gently as he smirked. Beomgyu didn’t hold back the tears as he fully turned around. The man grinned, “ _What’s with the tears, Beomie_?”

The Celestial Mage ran straight into Leo’s arms, crying as he hugged his Celestial Spirit. There was no masking the happiness and shock that came to him.

“How …why?” Beomgyu stammered through the words as he cried.

“I told you, I’m in your corner. Always,” Leo smiled as he ruffled Beomgyu’s hair. He smiled and nodded behind, “I actually was ready to rest in the Celestial Realm, but I met an angel. She said I could see you again as long as I help protect her son.”

Beomgyu looked behind Leo and there was a woman there. She was beautiful, completely angelic and her eyes were so warm, so loving – Beomgyu thought those eyes were so familiar, but he couldn’t figure out why he knew them. He let go of Leo as he tried to get a better look at this ethereal being. He didn’t know her – he was sure that he would have remembered her if he met her, but her eyes were familiar.

The Celestial Mage heard footsteps headed to them. He looked over to see Yeonjun walking toward them. Yeonjun’s footsteps were slow, as if he was trying to force himself to walk forward. In that moment, Beomgyu realized why those eyes were so familiar to him.

Yeonjun spoke in a bare whisper, “Mom?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, friends. Thank you for making it to the end of Chapter 14! We're in the last stretch - there should be 3 or 4 chapters until the end of the series! I appreciate you all for making it through this far with me! 
> 
> I kept forgetting to tell you all but I do have polls on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/nine3rds) that help decide the fate of the story! Please check there from time to time and participate when you see open polls!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!  
> Love ya, appreciate ya!
> 
> See ya in the next chapter!


	15. Into the Dragon's Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter the circumstances, you should always be careful of Dragons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends.
> 
> This chapter is shorter than the previous two and I apologize for that. I fell into an unfortunate writer's block mixed with imposter syndrome - I'm working through it and trusting my gut, so please bear with me. But, this is an action packed chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it!

It wasn’t Yeonjun that started crying first; Soobin was the one who cried.

Beomgyu was surprised at the composure Yeonjun had managed to keep. The Celestial Mage was certain that if he had been the one who reunited with his missing mother, he would have cried even before Soobin had the chance to. Or maybe, Yeonjun was trying to keep himself held together because of the situation. The Prince had never been the emotionless type and that’s where Beomgyu’s concern began to stem from.

“Hey,” Beomgyu whispered as he gently reached for Yeonjun’s hand – the simple touch of their hands seemed to draw the Prince out of the trance he’d fallen into. “You okay?” Beomgyu asked as he gently rubbed his thumb against the back of Yeonjun’s hand. His voice remained a whisper as he assured Yeonjun, “I’m here, if you need anything.”

Yeonjun’s lips pressed together into a thin line as he shook his head, “I’m okay right now.”

The Celestial Mage decided he would pretend to believe Yeonjun’s lie, _for now_. He turned his attention to Yeonjun’s mother – her eyes really did match Yeonjun’s. Though she looked kind enough, there was a vivid awkwardness in the air. Beomgyu decided he didn’t like that.

“Hi,” Beomgyu chimed in as he walked toward Yeonjun’s mother – he pulled Yeonjun along with him. He smiled at the woman of the hour, “I’m Beomgyu. Yeonjun’s told me a lot about you, so I’m really happy to meet you even if right now is such strange timing …but I am very happy to meet you still!” Having to break the ice in the middle of a decisive battle had not been a task that Beomgyu expected to have, but the Mage was adaptable. His eyes moved from Yeonjun to his mother; with every glance, he decided that Yeonjun looked more like his mother than he did the King.

There should have been a warm reunion. Beomgyu expected there to be one, but …

“Mom, how are you here?” Yeonjun asked the question that had been in the back of everyone’s mind. Although, Beomgyu found himself a little annoyed at the Prince’s lack of compassion at his own mother’s arrival – _why was he being so paranoid for?_ The Celestial Mage squeezed Yeonjun’s hand, a failed attempt in asking him to be kinder. Instead, Yeonjun asked with more seriousness, “How did you get here? Why are you here now?”

“The Celestial Realm has doors that lead here,” had been the start of the explanation. “It took me awhile to find someone who could help me cross over,” she nodded at Leo, who gave her a slight bow. “With the Leo Zodiac key broken in this world, his Spirit was between worlds, like mine has been.”

“When my Key broke, I wasn’t in this world or the Celestial Realm,” Leo added in, “Consider it the realm in between. When our Keys break, our Celestial Energy is left in in that in-between state until we gather enough energy to return.” Though the explanation had been for everyone, Leo’s voice had been aimed at his Celestial Mage. There were a lot of mysteries in the Celestial Realm, its Spirits and its connection to Mages that had been unanswered; the Spirit of Leo always aimed to help his Mage answer those questions. “The last time my Key was broken, it took me half a year to return,” Leo pointed out but nodded toward Yeonjun’s mother, “She brought me back.”

“How?” Yeonjun asked, the obvious disbelief in his voice. Beomgyu could tell that Yeonjun wanted to believe his mother, but it was hard to move past that veil of suspicion; the timing and their location thickened the distrust in the air. “How were you able to meet him in the in-between?”

“Because that’s where I’ve been: _the in-between_ ,” she answered and before she could continue, Soobin shot up from where he had been healing Taehyun and Hueningkai. “I’m sorry, I didn’t kn—I did that. Macabre Grimoire …they did tricked me and I—I didn’t know,” Soobin’s apologies would not stop – the guilt he had carried quietly in his heart came out through his tears and stumbled through stammered words.

“That’s a heavy hurt to carry on your own,” Yeonjun’s mother replied to Soobin’s tears with kindness, “You weren’t at fault, you were young and they took advantage of your naivety.” Her brows furrowed as the softness of her previous expression fell, “They lied to everyone who came to them for help …,” she shook her head and reached out to Soobin. She gently took his hand into hers and said, “Don’t blame yourself for the deception they used on you. Free your heart from it.”

Though there were many unanswered questions that were in the midst of being answered, their time was short – the Guild Master of Macabre Grimoire was still present and there was an ongoing battle just outside.

“A touching reunion,” Macabre’s Master replied as he clapped his hands with bland interest. His expression turned into bored annoyance as he looked on to the group. “It’s my turn for one now,” he smiled as he titled his head to the side, “You’ve managed to dispose of three of my lovely Funeral Wreaths: Merda, Basil and our lovely pink lady, Celeste.” He feigned a sad expression as he smiled, “There’s still three more of my lovelies and I’m sure they’re itching to make their appearance.”

As if on cue, Macabre’s Master snapped his fingers and the air of the situation darkened.

Something powerful was headed their way.

“Come with me,” Beomgyu reached for Yeonjun’s mother’s hand, “We need to go.” The Celestial Mage shot a glance back at Leo and nodded – his gaze pleaded with his most trusted Celestial Spirit, asking him to stay safe but also to watch out for Yeonjun. He turned his glance back to Yeonjun’s mother, “It’s going to get dangerous. Let’s go.”

“You’re a strong Celestial Mage,” she spoke as she followed after Beomgyu. She pulled him to a sudden stop as she looked up at him, “You can save the Keys on the door.”

“We need to go …,” Beomgyu frowned for a moment but the sound of the fight beginning spread worry into his eyes. The Celestial Mage was caught in a strange situation – he knew that they needed to get going but he didn’t want to be rude, especially since she was not only (technically) the rightful Queen but _also_ Yeonjun’s mother. Though he attempted to outweigh the pros and cons of the situation, the prospect of saving the Celestial Spirits trapped at the door proved too much of a necessity to him. He nodded at her, “Okay, let’s save the Spirits. We’ll leave the fighting to them.”

She smiled at Beomgyu, “You have a good heart.”

* * *

With his mother with Beomgyu, Yeonjun could fully focus on the new opponents at hand.

 _Funeral Wreaths_ – the named sounded so dark, a sense of macabre humor that only made the Guild Master giggle. As it was told, three of the Funeral Wreaths had already been defeated: the Red Mage, Merda, the Green Mage, Basil and the Pink Mage, Celeste.

“Yo, Dragon Slayer,” Leo called out to Yeonjun as he wiped his sunglasses. He looked over at Yeonjun and grinned, “I defeated one of the Funeral Wreaths already, so you should follow my lead when it comes to this fight.” He gently placed his sunglasses back on as he smirked at the Prince, “I have a sense of what’s going to com--,” Leo abruptly stopped his goading as he noticed that Yeonjun wasn’t even in front of him. “Ah, Dragon Slayer! I am talking to you.”

“And?” Yeonjun responded without giving Leo a glance. He had moved to help Hueningkai up from where he’d laid during Soobin’s healing treatment. “Come on, lean on me to help you up,” Yeonjun said as he shouldered Kai’s weight against him. The Prince could feel Soobin avoiding eye contact with him but they didn’t have the luxury for this awkwardness, not right now. “Soobin,” Yeonjun called out, “Take Kai and Taehyun out of here. Leo and I will take on the last three Funeral Wreaths. If you can, get to where Beomgyu and my mom are at.”

“Yeonjun, I—I’m so—,” Soobin began his apologies again.

Yeonjun laughed, “I know. You’re sorry. I’ve heard you say it.” He shook his head, “My mom forgave you and that means I can too. So, try to live with that weight off your shoulders.” The Prince had did not have the luxury to continue to hold a grudge; if he held steadfast to a grudge that had been forgiven, there wouldn’t be room to move forward. He nodded at Soobin, “Our enemy isn’t each other. It’s Macabre. So, we need to work together to win against them.”

“I’ll come help as soon as we get Kai out of here,” Taehyun said as he moved to Kai’s side. He pulled the Beast Soul user against him and assured him, “Soobin and I will take care of you.”

Hueningkai nodded, the obvious effects of the Siren Song still lingered in his mind. Kai closed his eyes and tried to insist, “I can help soon …I just need t—her voice is still singing.”

“Stay alive until I get here,” Taehyun encouraged Yeonjun before he and Soobin began to escort Hueningkai to safety. Macabre Grimoire wasn’t their only enemy – time was a foe for all of them.

“Bold of you to assume that two of you can handle the final three Funeral Wreaths,” Macabre’s Guild Master smiled with amusement. He beamed as he clapped his hands together and let out an excited squeal, “I can’t wait to see this happen. The Prince of Chronos and the Spirit of Leo versus my lovely and beautiful Funeral Wreaths.”

There was a crash that punctuated the last syllable.

Three figures came descended from the roof: A masked man with a shroud of darkness caped over his shoulders, two blades adorned on his side – each of the blades were tinted with a purple hue but when the light hit it, a ghost of a face could be traced in it. A woman with light blue hair that trailed to the bottom of her feet, two tiny dark blue horns clipped at the top of her head – she seemed more child-like than the rest of her company. A pale blonde man with a dark trench coat stood with a scowl on his face – he seemed uncaring for the other two people beside him, his gaze only softened at their Guild Master.

Each one knelt in front of their Guild Master, presenting him with a Key.

“Oh-ho,” their Guild Master grinned as he took the three Keys into his hand, “And this completes the set. These three beauties, the three already in the door and of course, we can’t forget the six that our favorite Celestial Mage already has.” He smiled excitedly, “I thought it would have been a bigger struggle to get the rest of the Keys from him. I didn’t expect you to hand deliver his beautiful Keys to me.”

It hit Yeonjun: Beomgyu was the target. Beomgyu was _always_ the target.

“Well then,” the Guild Master looked at his members and said, “Phantom Knight, Bellal and Alaude, I’ll leave these two to you. Please keep them busy. I’ve got a Celestial Mage to take care of.”

Yeonjun and Leo shared one look and that was all that they needed.

“Listen, Dragon Slayer, we should—,” Leo’s expression fell flat, he couldn’t even hide it behind his sunglasses. He took in a deep breath, “I don’t understand why Beomgyu is so into you when you can’t even listen to me as I’m trying to figure out strategy.”

“We don’t have time to wait,” Yeonjun shouted back, “We need to save Beomgyu.”

The Dragon Slayer of Lightning was the first to strike – the luxury of time was not theirs to relish, not when that Guild Master was headed right for Beomgyu. The piercing crackle of lightning echoed as his Mana began to concentrate in the center of his right palm. Once the electricity enveloped his hand, Yeonjun rushed toward the trio – the claps of thunder sped up until the sound punctured the tension of the room. As he appeared in front of them, the drew his hand back and punched it forward – the targets moved out of the way, but the stray streaks of lightning snapped at them as they dodged. He turned to the right, brought his hand back to try and connect a punch but it didn’t reach.

The masked swordsman, the Phantom Knight, drew his twin blades and with swift movements, he slid to his right and slashed the pair of blades to the left. Yeonjun ducked down as he barely avoided the attack; the Phantom Knight stepped forward, slashed at Yeonjun with his right blade and followed up with his left blade. The Dragon Slayer turned, stepped out of the attack and just when he thought he had been cleared, it was the blue Mage’s turn to join in the battle.

The blue-haired woman, Bella, summoned a Casting Circle so big that Yeonjun hadn’t realized she cast it – he only noticed once the ice began to take a hold on his legs. “Shit,” Yeonjun muttered as the ice’s grip began to spread across, preventing him from moving. His eyes widened as the Phantom Knight’s attack started up once more; the Dragon Slayer summoned lightning as his defense against the relentless barrage of blades. As his lightning focused on the masked swordsman, Yeonjun realized he’d left an opening for the blue-haired woman’s attack.

“ ** _Regulus Impact_**!” – the Mana beam rushed past Yeonjun and struck the blue-haired Mage. Leo rushed past Yeonjun as he twisted himself upward, kicking the Phantom Knight away. With the ice Mage out of the way, the ice around Yeonjun’s legs started break apart. Leo’s glare sharpened as he scolded Yeonjun, “You can’t underestimate these Mages.”

“Not underestimating,” Yeonjun pointed out as he shot Leo a look, “Just a little impatient. You should know why.”

“I know.”

“You know.”

Leo nodded and grinned as he watched the two Mages rise up from where they had been knocked to. “And that’s why I’m letting you have the pleasure of working with me to defeat them. When I win, I’ll be sure to let my darling, Beomie, know that you helped. _Just a little_.”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Zodiac Spirit.”

At the comment, Leo sprinted past Yeonjun as he aimed for the Phantom Knight. He sidestepped from the blades and then evaded the follow-up attack; he charged his fists at the Phantom Knight who avoided the bombardment, stepping left and right before he bounced backward. The sudden retreat from the Phantom Knight took Leo by surprise.

“Duck,” Yeonjun shouted as he rushed up from behind Leo. The Dragon Slayer took the final step to push himself upward with his left leg and as he ascended, he used his right foot to step on Leo’s back, springing him airborne.

“What the fu—this is good suit, you uncouth asshole!” Leo shouted at Yeonjun in surprise.

Yeonjun ignored Leo.

While airborne, Yeonjun angled himself – successfully twisting his body so that he would be able to kick the assault of icicles that Bella began to throw. As his kicks connected, lightning was released with each one causing the icicles to shatter before he landed gracefully. He turned to Leo and said, “When this is over, I’ll buy you a _not_ cheap suit.”

“This is _not_ a cheap suit,” Leo defended, “You wouldn’t understand. You like wearing all black and leather all the time. You’re a Prince, I’m surprised you do—”

“I’ve had enough of this,” the voice of the blonde man that both of them had seemingly forgotten came between their conversation. The Zodiac Spirit and the Dragon Slayer had no time to react before the blonde Funeral Wreath appeared between them. His hands went around Yeonjun’s left wrist and Leo’s right wrist – a Casting Circle emerged where his hands were placed as a pair of cuffs were put between them. “Good luck,” he grinned at the pair.

* * *

Beomgyu wanted to scream.

Between hearing the fighting break out, looking at this obscenely large door and not knowing how to tell Yeonjun’s mother that they needed to leave, the Celestial Mage felt like he was out of options. Although, he had no issues about saving the Zodiac Spirits embedded in the door, Beomgyu had absolutely no idea how to do that and judging from the confused look on Yeonjun’s mom’s face, she didn’t know what to do either.

“I can’t just pull them out, can I?” Beomgyu asked as he brushed his fingers against the gold Keys. He touched the three keys embedded in the door – the key of Cancer, Libra and Virgo. He frowned as his fingers brushed across their symbols; he could almost hear them calling out for help. “It can’t ever be that easy,” Beomgyu muttered to himself.

“They keys were put into place with Celestial Mana, the kind that you and I have used,” Yeonjun’s mother explained as she walked beside Beomgyu. She frowned and shook her head, “Unfortunately, I have to rely on you for this. I no longer have Celestial Mana …I transferred that …”

Yeonjun had mentioned to Beomgyu before that Celestial Mages had been hunted by these Dark Guilds – they were targeted because of their special Mana and it seemed that Yeonjun’s mother had suffered in many ways because of Macabre Grimoire. He shook his head and tried to give her a smile, “It’s okay. You can rely on me, I’ll take care of it. It’s not a problem, just tell me what I need to d—”

“Beomgyu!” Soobin called out as he arrived, Hueningkai and Taehyun in tow with him. The trio arrived beside them, all three eyeing the giant portal. Kai moved slightly off of Soobin as he looked up at the door and suggested, “What if we just smash it?”

“Kai, I love you and you’re my best friend,” Taehyun began but added, “Smashing the door won’t work if we do it. It’s protected by Celestial Mana. The only person who can smash it is Beomgyu.”

“You can’t smash the door,” Yeonjun’s mother interjected as the boys began to bicker. She shook her head, “We need to remove the Keys that are embedded first. If you destroy the door with the Keys in it, then you’ll be destroying those Keys too.”

“That’s not something we’re going to do,” Beomgyu jumped up as he blocked the door, “I’m not letting anymore Keys get destroyed. I can’t let that happen again.”

“Oh, Beomgyu,” Taehyun said as his eyes moved from the Celestial Mage to their latest incoming terror. He pulled out his main deck of cards as he stepped in front of the group, “You should figure out how to get the keys out because we’ve got one very angry Guild Master headed our way.”

Luckily, by this time, Hueningkai had recovered from the effects of the Siren Song. He stood up and shifted into his largest Beast form – the one that combined the strength and speed of multiple beasts. He stood by Taehyun and nodded at him; words weren’t needed when they both knew what they needed to do. Kai held his hand out for Taehyun to climb into as he put the blonde Mage on his shoulder – this was not the first time that they had to fight a battle together, but this was the most important time for their teamwork to shine.

“Work on the door,” Taehyun shouted down to them, “Kai and I will take care of the Guild Master. Be quick, Beomgyu! Don’t be stupid.”

Beomgyu turned to Yeonjun’s mother and asked, “What do I do? How should I do this?” There was no point in hiding any pf the panic that had frantically seized him. Soobin placed a hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder to give him a reassuring squeeze; he nodded at the Celestial Mage as he turned his attention back to the door. Beomgyu decided that it was nice to have this Soobin back.

“You need to release Celestial Mana to unlock the Keys in the door,” Yeonjun’s mother instructed. There was a hint of hesitation in her voices that made Beomgyu question the directions, but he didn’t know what other option to do.

So, Beomgyu did what he was told.

The Celestial Mage pressed his fingers against one of the Keys embedded in the door. He took a deep breath before he slowly released his Mana through the tips of his fingers – a soft, warm light emitted from where his fingers were pushed against the Zodiac Key. Truthfully, he thought it was strange to put Mana into the door that they were trying to prevent from opening but Yeonjun’s mother seemed to be the only one who knew what to do.

“Beomgyu,” Soobin whispered beside him. His voice dropped low enough that only the Celestial Mage could hear him, “Don’t pour that much Mana into the door. Something feels wrong.”

“That’s what I thought too,” Beomgyu returned the whisper, trying to avoid any suspicion. He stole a glance at Yeonjun’s mother and then back to Soobin, “I want to believe her because she’s Yeonjun’s mom but …”

“It feels off,” Soobin muttered, “Like …it’s _too_ convenient.”

“It makes sense why Yeonjun had been so prickly earlier,” Beomgyu stole a glance back at the woman watching them, “But I don’t get why she would want to help Macabre Grimoire.”

“It’s not like I wanted to help Macabre Grimoire when I was younger,” Soobin pointed out and then glared at Beomgyu, “If you weren’t trying to impress your future mother-in-law, you wouldn’t be putting Mana into the door we’re trying not to open.”

“Listen, I have three kids that require my parents-in-law to approve of me,” Beomgyu snapped back before he nearly stopped the release of his Mana. He sighed and said, “So, what do we do now? She’s literally watching me.”

“What if you faint?”

“I am not going to faint.”

“It was a suggestion,” Soobin shrugged, “What if you say you need to go to the bathroom? When nature calls, you have to answer.”

“I am not going to fake a bathroom call in front of Yeonjun’s mother,” Beomgyu hissed at him, “That’s stupid. I’m not an idiot.”

“Not an idiot he says as he’s _literally_ putting Mana into the door,” Soobin stared at him. “If a dragon actually comes out, I hope it eats you first.”

“I’m sure they’ll aim to eat the giant rabbit first,” Beomgyu said between gritted teeth. “Ah, I’m going to just pull the Keys out,” Beomgyu finally decided as he reached for the Key of Libra in front of him. He expected the key to stay in the door and was taken aback when it popped off. He held the Key in hand as he turned to Soobin, “It came out.”

“ _It came out_.”

“ **It came out**.”

“It _just_ came out.”

“ _What_?”

* * *

It seemed hopeless – if Yeonjun went _too_ far right, he would get pulled back to Leo; if Leo went too far to the left, he would get pulled right back to Yeonjun.

“Stop moving in the other direction,” Leo snapped at Yeonjun, “We have to move together.”

Yeonjun took in a deep breath. He knew his impatience at this fight had impaired his ability – the Dragon Slayer knew he was a much better fighter than whatever he had displayed earlier. Impatience in battle impaired judgement and that mistake could cost Beomgyu – he needed to work together with Leo. He released another breath before he nodded and said, “Okay, we need to take out the ice Mage first or she’ll freeze us in place.”

“Freeze _you_ in place,” Leo corrected.

“… sure,” Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “Regardless, her ice makes her a mid-to-long range fighter and because of this,” – Yeonjun lifted their cuffed wrists – “It makes it a little harder to fight against her while that swordsman’s aft—”

There wasn’t time to talk strategy – Yeonjun quickly lifted their cuffed hands up, letting the chained Mana between them block the blade that came down on them. The Funeral Wreaths were not going to wait for them to plan how to defeat them, after all. With the blade caught between the chained Mana between them, Leo and Yeonjun stole a glance at each other before they crossed the bound wrists over and pulled the blade downward. Yeonjun followed with a right hook and Leo with a left one – the move caught the Phantom Knight by surprise, throwing him backward and as he stumbled over, Yeonjun shot a bolt of lightning at him with such force that the Funeral Wreath’s mask cracked before he fell.

One down and two to go: the ice Mage and the blonde Mage.

The ice Mage was tricky. Her movements were quick as she weaved between them – this caused the problem. The pair were so accustomed to their own fighting styles that as the ice Mage attacked, they would move in opposite directions. Their cuffed wrists kept them tethered and unable to dodge. It was an unfortunate comedic circumstance that was slowly making Yeonjun angrier by the second.

“Follow my lead,” Yeonjun snapped at Leo. “She keeps shooting her icicles and veering right. I’ll break the icicles. You aim your attack at her and don’t hold back.”

“I’m doing this because **_I_** know that this is best course of action, not because you’re telling how to fight,” Leo clarified as he gave Yeonjun a matter-of-fact glare.

* * *

No one had ever questioned Taehyun's ability to adapt to any situation. Despite being as young as he is, Taehyun had a sense greater than most Mages - he was on the short-list of BH Mages that were considered for the S-Class level, after all.

"Kai," Taehyun said, "His Magic is unlike anyone's Magic I've ever seen. It's like he has the ability to have more than one kind." His bottom lip curled into a frown as his brows knitted in frustration. "I don't know what's going to come at us with, Kai. Just trust that I'll have your back, Kai."

Hueningkai grunted in agreement as he headed forward. In his Beast Form, he relied less on his vision and more on his other five senses. Macabre Grimoire's Guild Master moved a rate that was hard to followed with any vision, but his scent remained the same - the Guild Master rushed at them and before he made it to Taehyun, Kai slammed his arm down on the attacking Mage. He tried to grab hold of the Guild Master, but the man proved to too slippery for him to hold on to.

"Gladius Thornea!" Taehyun shouted as he launched five Mana charged cards toward the Guild Master's feet. As the cards hit the ground, roots began to emerge from the cards - the roots wrapped around the Master's feet, tightening their grip upon him the more he struggled. The Guild Master simply grinned as a Casting Circle appeared on the center of his palm. A bright light covered his palm as he slashed it above the roots. The attacking roots fell as they were chopped in half.

"Oh, Taehyunnie," he grinned up, "You're going to have to try harder than that. You've seen what I ca--"

Kai did not let him finish his words.

The Beast Soul user grabbed the Master's legs with one hand, lifted him up and slammed him into the ground. While Kai normally had a calm, friendly disposition, even he had had enough of what this monster has done. He lifted and brought down the Guild Master to the right, then lifted and brought him down again to the left; he repeated this countless of times until he finally threw him aside.

"Well, that's one way to get rid of a pest," Taehyun said as he let out a soft laugh. He felt a little envious that Kai was able to release his frustration on the Guild Master, but at least, they could get the job do--,"Kai, move!"

At Taehyun's warning, Kai put a hand up to shield Taehyun as he ran from the beam of Mana that the Guild Master shot their way. It started off with one beam but doubled and tripled; the Guild Master's attacks seemed desperately aimed at the pair. As Taehyun regain his footing from the movement, he shuffled through his cards and pulled one out.

"Mirror Force!" Taehyun shouted as he threw the card in front of Hueningkai. A nearly invisible shield emerged in front of Hueningkai and when the beams of Mana collided with the shield, they were mirrored back in full force at the Guild Master - the more he attacked the two of them, the more he attacked himself. It seemed like a waste of effort to Taehyun ...until the Mage realized that the Guild Master had turned his focus to the pair at the door. "Kai, get us to Soobin and Beomgyu!"

* * *

"It's two against one now," Yeonjun said as he moved his eyes away from the fallen blue Mage. His suggested plan worked exactly as he expected it to, despite Leo's current grumblings. He looked at the blonde Mage - surprisingly, there was a look of obvious boredom in the Mage.

"Then, I'll let you two go," Alaude replied with a simple shrug. He snapped his fingers and the Mana cuffs that held the two together dematerialized. "With that, I'll take my leave."

"Wait, why?" Disbelief lingered in Yeonjun's syllables. "Aren't you loyal to Macabre Grimoire? Why would you just walk away like that?"

Alaude turned to Yeonjun as he let out a quiet chuckle. He shook his head and said, "I owed the Master something and I've paid my debt. I have no interest in being a pawn for a plan I don't care for." The Mage slid his hands into his pocket as he said, "Consider this me paying the debt I owe to your mother."

"She's there though."

"You don't believe that," Alaude pointed out the obvious, "Everything in you says that isn't your mother and I'll let you in on a secret, Dragon Slayer." The Mage's brows raised for a moment before his expression returned to its original bored state. His gaze met Yeonjun's as he said, "Remnants remain in this world as long as they are strongly connected, and her time is almost up." There was a pause between them that froze both Mages before Alaude suggested, "You're not stupid, Prince of Chronos. I think you already know why it's almost up."

Leo muttered something about begging to differ to a statement that Alaude said before he joined the conversation. "Are we just letting him go?" He titled his head to ask Yeonjun before he turned back to eye Alaude slowly, "Why should we just let you go?"

"Because your Celestial Mage is about to run into trouble," Alaude directed their attention toward the door. "I won't interfere with anything you do from here. It's not my business or interest what you do with Macabre Grimoire." He sighed before he turned to Yeonjun, "If you trust me, let this be the debt I will repay in the future, Prince of Chronos."

"Dragon Slayer," Leo called out, "Is this a chance you're willing to take?"

* * *

"I hate to say it, I really do because my twins will probably very upset at this," Beomgyu muttered as he pointed his voice toward Soobin, "But Yeonjun's mom is definitely, definitely sus right now."

"Why do you keep talking about children?"

"It's my future we're talking about," Beomgyu quickly answered but then changed the topic back to the situation at hand. He sighed and said, "Now, I have the Libra Key in hand, do I just ...," he reached up and took the Virgo Key out. His expression remained flat as he stared at the new Keys in hand. He let out a sigh as he asked, "Can you take the Cancer Key out?"

Soobin shrugged as he reached for the Key and attempted to pull it out. However, unlike Beomgyu's easy retrieval, Soobin had no luck for it. The Key remained embedded in the door. Even as Soobin tried to squeeze his fingertips under the ridges of the Key, it wouldn't move. He tried again, just to make sure and the same issue happened - it would not move, not for Soobin.

"A Celestial Mage is the only one who can remove or insert those Keys," the voice Macabre Grimoire's Guild Master explained to them. "That's why it was important for us to have a Celestial Mage, or at least the remnants of a Celestial Mage, in our Guild."

"Oh," Beomgyu and Soobin both nodded slowly as they understood what was explained to them. At the exact moment, the pair's eyes widened as they slowly faced each other. The shock in their expressions matched as the realization slowly crept on both of them.

"Maybe, if we choose not to look," Beomgyu whispered, "We won't see him, right?"

"We live in a world of Magic, Beomgyu. Not a world of wishes." Soobin replied as he sighed.

Soobin turned around first and Beomgyu could tell from the slight gasp, the Guild Master was present. The Celestial Mage reached up and quickly pried the final Key out of the door. He closed his eyes to build up the courage to turn around and when he finally did, he wished he didn't. The Guild Master's sinister smile sent shivers down Beomgyu's spine - this was the man that tortured Soobin and countless others, the one who orchestrated the capture of Yeonjun's mother and the mastermind behind so many crimes. It wasn't in Beomgyu's nature to hate someone, but he could feel the hatred brew in his heart for this man.

The Guild Master started to clap his hands as his eyes focused solely on Beomgyu. He stepped forward slowly as he outstretched his arms, "I never expected that we would have such a powerful Celestial Mage here along with all twelve of the Zodiac Keys. Dreams really can come true, you know?" He giggled as he walked toward Beomgyu, "You have no idea how important it is that you are here, Beomgyu. You don't know how important you are to this plan, don't you?"

"Sorry, no consent, no go!" Beomgyu shouted as he pushed Soobin to the right. "Run," he hissed at the taller Mage as he began to sprint. If they could distance themselves from the Guild Master, the should be able to escape and get to safety, right?

Unfortunately, there was a reason why the Guild Master of Macabre Grimoire was the Guild Master.

Even before Beomgyu could move, the Guild Master appeared between him and Soobin. He smiled at Beomgyu before he pressed the open palm of his hand against Beomgyu's forehead and began to push the Celestial Mage back. Despite Beomgyu's attempt to get away from the Guild Master, he was pushed back against the door. The Guild Master grinned as he reached for Beomgyu's Celestial Keys, "You see, this door is a portal. I'm sure Taehyunnie already explained that to you all. That we're trying to revive the Hour of the Dragons." He pulled Beomgyu's Keys away, "And all I needed was all twelve of the Zodiac Keys and one Celestial Mage."

"Give me those back," the words came from gritted teeth as Beomgyu fought even harder. He kicked and punched, he struggled with all of his might. "Give me my Keys back, you asshole," he reached for the Keys as the Guild Master held them above with his free hand. "Those are mine, you can't have them. You're not allowed to."

"You don't have a say anymore, Celestial Mage," the Guild Master grinned as he threw Beomgyu against the door, "Their energy is already here. All we have to do is release them one by one. I'll save your keys for last, so we can hear you cry." The Guild Master stepped away from Beomgyu as he lifted the three Keys that the Funeral Wreaths had delivered to him. He hummed happily as he broke the Key of Capricorn and then the Key of Sagittarius.

As the Keys snapped in half, Beomgyu swore he saw the intangible faces of the Spirits as their energy fizzled away. "No," Beomgyu shouted as he felt their pain. The next Keys that the Master broke were the three that had been on the door: the Key of Libra, Virgo and Cancer - Beomgyu swore he saw their Spirits cry in pain before they became embedded into the door. The Guild Master held the Key of Scorpio in hand, ready to break it but Beomgyu ran forward and tackled the Mage with all of his might. The Master didn't move. Rather, he stopped to look at Beomgyu and laughed. "Stop breaking them," Beomgyu shouted as he reached for the Key, "They don't deserve this." The Guild Master had destroyed five Keys in a matter of minutes and Beomgyu was damned if he would let the man continue.

" ** _Mercury's Deep Submerge_**!"

Taehyun's card landed under the Guild Master's feet and a torrential blast of water exploded beneath him. "Beomgyu, get out of here. Take your Keys and go!" Taehyun shouted as he and Hueningkai finally arrived. Kai immediately grabbed the Guild Master and tossed him as far as he could - the Key of Scorpio fell as he flew away; angering the Guild Master was a mistake that they knew they would pay for later, but ensuring Beomgyu and Soobin's safety was important. Taehyun descended from Hueningkai's shoulder and ran to give Soobin a hug. "You okay?" He asked to the taller Mage. Soobin nodded, "Are you?"

Their reunions were short lived as the Guild Master's Mana beam aimed at them.

"You're all being very annoying," he said, the smile still plastered on his face.

"I'll be even more annoying," Beomgyu shouted as he reached for the Key of Scorpio. He charged his Mana into the Key, "O Key of Scorpio, I lend you my power. I summon you, Scorpio."

The Celestial gate opened and as its light dimmed, a very tall, blonde man walked out. The man stood tall, handsome and had ...Beomgyu blinked a few times, a scorpion tail attached to him. He grinned as he greeted Beomgyu by putting his arm around him, "It's about time that you finally called me out. Everyone needs a Scorpio in their lives, especially you, Beomgyu."

Almost as if on cue, Taurus did a Forced Celestial Entrance - the door's edges lit up immediately. Taurus appeared and immediately shoved Scorpio's hand off Beomgyu's shoulder, "No, you're not allowed to touch my darling, Beomie like that."

"Taurus."

"Scorpio, does Aquarius know you're hitting on Beomgyu?"

Beomgyu smacked his forehead as his Celestial Spirits decided it best to fight amongst themselves. He took in a deep breath, ready to snap at them when Leo finally entered the picture - Leo entering the picture meant that the Celestial Spirit of the Lion launched himself to kick both Taurus and Scorpio swiftly in the face.

"Neither of you deserve to have Beomie's attention," Leo said as he put his hands on Beomgyu's shoulders. "I've returned by your side, Beomgyu."

While Kai covered his mouth and tried to stop himself from snickering, Taehyun easily rolled his eyes and Soobin let out a laugh. They were in the middle of danger and three of Beomgyu's Spirits were fighting for his attention. As the comedic timing of the situation entertained them, none of them realized that the door began to light up - the collective strength of the Celestial Spirit's Mana was slowly opening the door.

"All of you are so stupid," Beomgyu muttered ...and that triggered another Forced Celestial Entry: the Waterbearer had also entered the picture. In no time, she drenched the Spirits and Beomgyu. "Ah," Beomgyu let out a scream of frustration as he stared at all of his Celestial Spirits, "What the hell are you all doing? Why are you fighting with each other? Fight Macabre Grimoire's Guild Master! Not each other."

"Scorpio deserves it," Aquarius said as she folded her arms over her chest, "How dare he finally return and not even say hello to me? Instead, I find him hitting on you, brat."

"Aqua, baby," Scorpio immediately moved to Aquarius as he attempted to calm her down. It obviously was not working. 

The arrival of Beomgyu's Celestial Spirits triggered the door with their collective Mana. Even without needing them to arrive, the rest of of Beomgyu's Celestial Spirits all made their Forced Celestial Entrances - Pisces and Gemini immediately joined in with Aries being the final Zodiac Spirit to arrive.

"Perfect," they heard the Guild Master say. He clapped slowly as he pointed to the door, "All of your gathered Celestial Spirits have caused a rise in Celestial Mana in the area and that, my friends," he grinned as he pointed to the door as it slowly opened, light emerging from it, "Is what we call the perfect plot twist."

Beomgyu's eyes widened as he reached for all of his Zodiac Keys. He turned to his rowdy bunch of Spirits and scolded them, "I love you all but you guys might have just destroyed the world I live in. You morons!" He screamed as he lifted all of their Keys, "All of your gates seal!"

Unfortunately, the effort was wasted as the door finally opened.

* * *

“Then I’ll rely on your help,” Yeonjun said as he nodded at Alaude. Alaude said nothing but nodded before he gestured for Yeonjun to get to the door, “Be quick, Prince of Chronos. The need for Dragon Slayers is imperative. I’ll return once I have found her location.”

The Spirit of the Lion had checked out their conversation the moment that Beomgyu had summoned Scorpio – Yeonjun was thankful that that Zodiac Spirit had allowed himself to be distracted since the only word to describe the deal he made with Alaude was: _questionable_. The Prince knew the risks, but he had to run the gambit. The woman that claimed to be his mother was a remnant of her being and at the moment, Alaude had the answers that no one was giving him.

“I’m not going to threaten you. There is no point to doing so,” Yeonjun said, “But consider this as payment for letting you go, since you hate to be indebted.”

“You’re quick to adapt to the dealt cards, Prince of Chronos,” Alaude said with a bow, “I’ll be back with results. Good luck with the Dragons that your Celestial Mage has unwittingly summoned.”

* * *

“Fuck,” Beomgyu cursed as he watched the door light up with the excess Celestial Mana from his Zodiac Spirits. The Celestial Mage muttered every single curse word he could muster in his mind as the door slowly opened. At first, it seemed like nothing happened – maybe the door just opened without any problems.

And then, the problem came.

A gust of pure power poured out – it nearly caused Beomgyu to fly off with its strength, but Yeonjun had finally arrived where they were all gathered. The Prince caught him and held him down from flying. Beomgyu noted the difference between struggle everyone had to stay sturdy versus Yeonjun, who didn’t seem too phased from the power; it was a good thing there were four Dragon Slayers on their side, right?

The roars and cries of the Dragons caused everything to shake and vibrate. There were rumors that most of the Dragons were extinct at this point, but that wasn’t the case.

“Come out, my darlings,” the Guild Master walked in front of the door, trying to coax the Dragons to come forth. He held his arms wide open, welcoming them into this realm as he called out once more, “Come out from the darkness, my darling Dragons. You’ve been quiet for so long, it’s time that you take back what belongs to you. Take back this world that had forsaken you all.”

“He’s fucking insane,” Beomgyu muttered to Yeonjun. At the lack of response, Beomgyu looked over to the Prince whose eyes had not left the door. “Yeonjun …,” Beomgyu started but stopped when the older Mage shook his head.

“Can you hear their heartbeat?” Yeonjun asked, “There’s so many.”

“How many?”

Yeonjun’s eyes stayed unmoving, focused solely on the door. He swallowed nervously as he tried to count, “Three …four …five …,” his brows furrowed as he continued, “… six.” He stopped, assuming that was the last. With a swift shake of his head, he frowned, “There’s seven of them and only four Dragon Slayers.” Yeonjun looked at Beomgyu, “You need to get out of here. You and everyone else need to evacuate everyone and everything with in this area.”

Beomgyu nodded slowly but then shook his head, “I’m not leaving you.”

“You need to go before they get--,” Yeonjun’s warning ended as the first Dragon flew past them. He put his arms around Beomgyu, ducking the Celestial Mage against his chest to protect him from whatever the Dragons decided to do. Then the second flew past, the third, the fourth and each Dragon until all seven were in the skies, circling around them. Each beast seemed more ferocious than the next and each other more wicked than the previous.

Each Dragon had fierce colored eyes that sat concealed within the creature’s horned, thorny skull; two small horns sat atop its head, just above its ears as a row of crystal growths rand own its jawlines. Its colossal body was overed in thick scales with rows of crystal growths across its spine; its bottom was covered in wide scales. Its wings were slender and its barbed tail ended with a mace-like crystal growths.

The crystal growths coincided with each ability that Dragons held: Water, Fire, Iron, Lighting, Earth, Poison and Air. There were only four Dragon Slayers but seven Dragons – the odds were stacked against them.

The Guild Master clapped his hands as the final Dragon flew past him. He reached for the Dragon’s leg before he pulled himself up; he clamored his way until he sat on the Dragon’s back.

Beomgyu felt the sigh that Yeonjun let out as they watched the Dragons destroy Macabre’s Guild Hall and enter the battlefield outside. “We have our work cut out for us, don’t we?” Yeonjun looked up at the skies, “I’m telling you, Beomgyu. After this, I’m taking you on a month-long vacation.”

“Guys!” Hueningkai called out as he looked up at the Dragons circling their area. He grinned as a mischievous idea came into his mind: “I’m going to eat the Dragons’ souls.”

“What?” Taehyun shot a look at Kai, “What are you talking about?”

“Dragons are beasts,” Kai pointed out with seriousness as he explained, “If they’re Beasts, I can eat their soul and have them become part of me. I want to eat the Dragons’ soul.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again,
> 
> Thank you so much for making it to the end of chapter 15! Macabre Grimoire has done what they intended to. Tune in next time to see how our heroes face off against the Dragons! And to find out the truth behind Yeonjun's " _mother_ ". Heh.
> 
> As always, I hold polls on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/nine3rds) where you can vote on events that alter the chapter’s journey! Please vote if you see the polls go up! Thank you!
> 
> Like always, love ya and appreciate ya!  
> See ya in the next chapter.


	16. Into the Good Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although everything seemed so dire, Beomgyu had something worth fighting for and that was something he couldn't let him lose. Not again, not now and not ever.

Dragons.

Of course, there would be Dragons.

The giant creatures could be seen through the destroyed Macabre Grimoire base. Though the Macabre Guild Master tried to control the fantastical beasts, they had no prejudice on whom they attacked on the battlefield outside – both the Mages on the BH Guild’s side and Macabre Grimoire’s side were all target for attack.

“All we need are vampires and we’ve hit mythical creature BINGO,” Beomgyu said as he watched the Dragons circle the battle outside. He winced as he watched a breath of fire ascend upon the Mages outside.

“Don’t say that,” Yeonjun replied as he dusted off the debris that fell on him and Beomgyu. He looked at Beomgyu and with all seriousness said, “They might actually show up at this point and I really don’t want to deal with vampires _again_.”

“ ** _Again_**?”

Yeonjun shrugged at the question. “If you go up north enough, there’s vampires,” he said with calm casualness, “But we can save the vampires for later. Right now, we have to deal with Dragons.”

As if the Dragons in the sky weren’t enough to strike shock into Beomgyu, the fact that Yeonjun could casually talk about vampires made him question the amount of understanding that he had in this world. Beomgyu stared at Yeonjun with his mouth agape, confusion obvious in his eyes but he decided not to ask, not at the moment. The thought shook away as he turned his head back to the beasts above them. He wondered how they would get out of this predicament: Seven Dragons, but only four Dragon Slayers. That thought lasted only a moment before Beomgyu’s eyes shifted from the skies back to Yeonjun – _his_ Dragon Slayer would have to be involved in the battle against those creatures.

 _Oh_.

“Yeonjun …,” Beomgyu began as he attempted to reach for the Prince’s hand, but before he could, the three Dragon Slayers of the BH Guild had finally arrived. The Celestial Mage bit the inside of his cheek; he was thankful that they were there to aid them, but their timing was the worst that he could have ever imagined.

“It’s finally our turn,” Hoseok said as he walked forward, stretching his arms across his chest as he did. He tilted his head to the side before rolling his neck around. Despite his eyes focused on the Dragons above, there was his signature smile plastered on him – just one look at him and Beomgyu could tell that the Iron Dragon Slayer was excited at the challenge in front of him.

“Don’t mess around,” Yoongi responded as his eyes trailed after the Fire Dragon that wreaked havoc on the battlefield. Fire was an unforgiving element; it had no discrimination on who would be affected by the heat of power. “That one,” he gave a short nod to the Dragon of Flames, “I’ll be the one to end it.”

“Looks like you’re all fired up,” Hoseok grinned as he playfully elbowed Yoongi.

“We need to get out there,” Namjoon noted, “They’re grounding our side completely.” The Dragon Slayer of Water turned to face Yeonjun before he asked, “Can we ask you to assist us with this, Prince of Chronos, Dragon Slayer of Lightning?”

Beomgyu wanted to answer with a solid ‘no’. Not that Beomgyu thought Yeonjun wouldn’t be able to handle it – Yeonjun had proven himself as a capable Mage more times than Beomgyu could count – but because there was always that risk. It was a miniscule, tiny fraction of a risk but it was there; it was there when the Castle siege occurred and right now, that stupid, tiny risk was staring Beomgyu right in the face. The Celestial Mage took in a deep breath because even if he protested, he knew the Prince would never walk away from the duty to the people of this land.

“Of course,” Yeonjun responded without hesitation to the question, much to Beomgyu’s chagrin. Unfortunately, the Prince had never been one to shy away from the duties placed on him. Even if it’s an unintended birthright. Yeonjun nodded with approval as he glanced to the older Dragon Slayers, “There’s no choice but to fight, isn’t there?”

* * *

There were different classifications of Magic in this world. Elemental Magic, Summoner Magic, Celestial Magic …and so many other classifications. Some Magic had been much easier to understand and analyze, such as Elemental or Summoner Magic, even simple spells and enchantments could be placed in that same level of understanding. Then there were the more complex Magics, Celestial Magic being near the top of that spectrum; the complex Magic, such as Seokjin’s Magic powered by the Heavenly Bodies or even Jungkook’s “ _CRUSH_ ” Magic (no one can _actually_ explain the way Jungkook’s Magic works, just that he knows how to use and knows how to use it very, **_very_** well), were all debatable on their origin and the limit of their capabilities.

However, the origin of Dragon Slayer Magic has always well-known: During the time when Dragons roamed the planet, Dragon Slayer Magic was developed as humanity’s defense against those beasts. While the origin is well known, even the best of Magical historians and researchers have almost no understanding of the Magic except that it mimics Elemental Magic properties but also gives its user enhanced physical capabilities and durability.

Even now, the mystery remains.

Seven Dragons and four Dragon Slayers – this was going to be an interesting battle.

Hoseok reached the Iron Dragon before the rest of the others did – the Iron Dragon had landed nearby and focused its attacks everyone within its reach. The Iron Dragon Slayer grinned as he headed to it; while the Mages around the Dragon were on edgy, fearful for the attacks that were being descended on them, Hoseok had a playful excitement in his step – in his _dance_.

The Dragon Slayer bounced on the heels of his feet, following an unknown rhythm as he hopped back and forth – Hoseok swung his arms left and right, shifting his shoulders side to side as he top-rocked in his stance. His matching Dragon eyed him with slight interest as Hoseok quickly flipped himself over – he landed gracefully on the palm of his hands as he rotated his torso around the vertical axis of his body; he shifted his weight on his palms, putting pressure on the left and the right side as he twisted along a circular path. As his legs flared in the air, he quickly utilized his Dragon Slayer Magic – Casting Circles on his legs quickly would transform them into extended iron clubs that aimed to land a flurry of attacks on the Iron Dragon.

The Iron Dragon groaned, pained with each of the hits before its attention returned to Hoseok. Its eyes glinted with frustration as it turned to begin its attack.

Unlike Hoseok, Yoongi’s Fire Dragon was in the air. The Fire Dragon had been the main cause of the flames that began to engulf the battlefield – it circled the battle below them, breathing its flames with relentless intent.

The Fire Dragon Slayer aimed his open palms to the ground as he opened Casting Circles in the center of them. Streams of fire erupted in the center of his palms – these flames pushed him airborne as he maneuvered to get to the Dragon. A fight in the air was not uncommon for the Fire Dragon Slayer, it was one of his strongest abilities – unlike Hoseok or Namjoon, Yoongi had never allowed gravity to restrict him. He continued to let the flames release, burning through as he sailed in the air, stopping only when he got in front of the Dragon.

The Dragon’s eyes flinched when it met with Yoongi’s.

Yoongi smirked, “It’s over.”

In air, Yoongi aimed his left hand behind him – a smaller, more stable flame came from it. He slowly lifted his right hand, aiming it at the Dragon as he charged the fire. Once he had determined that there was enough fire built up, he released an explosive burst of fire with his right hand. The flames that came from his right hand caused a slight recoil, almost pushing him back but the smaller, stable flames form his left hand kept him in place while he continued to release his fury in flames.

The Dragon simply turned to him and swallowed the fire he released.

While Hoseok and Yoongi had immediately rushed into battle, Namjoon held back momentarily as he assessed the situation in front of him – there were too many factors that could disrupt the fight if he blindly ran into battle. Even with the trust he had for the other Virtues, Namjoon wasn’t foolish enough to believe that they could get out of this battle unscathed; Macabre Grimoire’s side had been unforgiving with their Magic assault and the appearance of these fantastical Dragons was not going to help their side. Carelessness could easily lose this battle for them.

Namjoon wasn’t the one to attack first.

The Water Dragon tempted the attack before it followed through.

The Dragon Slayer of Water created two Casting Circles in the center of both of his palms before he clapped them together in front of his chest. As he drew them apart, blades of water spouted between them – he held two blades in either of his hands, ready for the attack that was directed toward him. Since the Dragon was on the attack, Namjoon switched into a defensive stance. He crouched down whilst holding the left blade in front of him vertically as he used the right blade to draw a semi-circle beside him. At the completion of the semi-circle, walls of water spouted out around him, shielding him from the attack that the Dragon had aimed.

The attack did not connect.

At the Water Dragon’s surprise, Namjoon drew his right blade upward, sending a wave of water up. The wall of water reflected Namjoon’s image and the Water Dragon attacked. As the Water Dragon attacked the imposed image of Namjoon, he circled around it and launched himself upward before he brought down both blades on the Dragon’s head.

The Dragon turned slowly, unaffected by the attack.

The problem with the lightning is that it never predictable.

While Yeonjun had been well-acquainted with various beasts and creatures, he had never seen a Dragon before. The Prince had done his research on the creatures. He had been given the title of “Dragon Slayer” before he was given the title of “Prince” – naturally, it was impossible to ignore the curiosity. However, no matter what amount of research had been done, seeing a Dragon in person was enough to leave any Mage speechless. 

They had been fighting since day had broke and despite Yeonjun’s abnormal Mana energy, even he was starting to feel the reigns of fatigue begin to tighten. If he was beginning to feel the exhaustion seep in, he couldn’t even fathom what everyone else was feeling. That was enough motivation to push the Lightning Dragon Slayer to aim for victory.

The Lightning Dragon’s trajectory made no sense, but that the flow of lightning. It settled in the air for a moment before abruptly bombarding the ground with lightning, then returned to the skies and before diving right into the ground again. There was exactly one thing that Yeonjun easily understood: The Dragon needed to be stopped.

Yeonjun quickly rushed past the crowd of Mages – both the BH and Macabre Grimoire Mages were in the final stages of battle – and quickly ascended upward, trying to reach where the Dragon had flown to. With a final push of his strength, he landed on the Dragon’s back. Upon securing his position on the Dragon’s back, Yeonjun felt the tension of the scaled beast go up; the Dragon was immediately on the offensive, trying to remove the Prince from where he stood. The beast of lightning drew voltage from everywhere – an attempt to electrocute Yeonjun off his back.

It didn’t work.

The sudden attack of lightning only charged Yeonjun’s Mana.

And that was when Yeonjun reached a conclusion: He couldn’t fight the Dragon of Lightning, just like the others shouldn’t be fighting their Dragon counterparts – fighting the Dragon with the same element was not going to end in a victory for them.

They needed to switch their targets.

* * *

If Beomgyu was honest, he was tired – not once did anyone ever warn him that being an in-demand Celestial Mage was going exert this much physical energy. 

“Okay,” Beomgyu finally said as he decided _not_ to watch the Dragon Slayers’ fend off against the Dragons. While there were plenty of people who stopped in the middle of their fights, Beomgyu couldn’t bear the idea of watching a nearly impossible fight – the lightning he’d heard was not Yeonjun’s, after all. Instead, he turned his attention to Hueningkai, “Are you really going to try and eat the Dragon Soul? Is that even a real thing?”

“Yes,” Kai said as he gave his limbs a final stretch, “I’m going to eat the Dragon Soul and add Dragon to my collection.” He grinned and gave Beomgyu a thumbs up, “It’s like how you collect Celestial Keys or how Taehyun collects cards. Except, I collect Beast Souls and I want to eat the Dragon Soul.”

“That sounds gassy,” Beomgyu’s face scrunched as he tried to imagine the effects of eating a Dragon Soul. He shook his head and asked, “But how are you even going to do that?”

Kai grinned as he put an arm around Soobin, “Soobin will help me.”

“Soobin will help me?” Soobin turned his head and stared at Kai, blinking at him with confusion. He scoffed, “How will Soobin help you when Soobin doesn’t know what Soobin needs to do?”

“First person,” Taehyun interjected as he waved his hands between all of them, “Speak in first person. Third-person sounds so weird when we’re in front of each other.”

“Well, Soobin needs to help me with this,” Kai insisted as he pulled Soobin closer. He stared at him, as if his stare was enough to convince Soobin to come with him. When that didn’t work, he put his hands together in front of Soobin, praying that the older Mage would agree: “Please, Soobin. Please. It won’t work if you’re not there to help.”

Soobin laughed and pointed at Kai, “He’s so cute when he’s desperate, isn’t he?” He looked over at Taehyun and Beomgyu before he nodded, “I’ll help Kai eat his Dragon. So, he doesn’t get eaten.” His eyes moved from the pair and over to the mystery that shrouded Yeonjun’s mother. He cleared his throat and directed his words to Beomgyu, “And I’m sure you’ll keep Taehyun safe from your mother-in-law, right?”

“I don’t think I’ll need safe keeping,” Taehyun muttered as he quietly inched his way to Soobin. He gently tugged on the hem of Soobin’s shirt until the older Mage noticed. Their eyes met for a second before Soobin gave Taehyun a hug. The older Mage whispered, “Stay safe, Taehyun. I need you more than you realize.” Taehyun smiled into the hug as he promised to.

“And that leaves us with you,” Beomgyu turned to face Yeonjun’s mother. He folded his arms over his chest as he asked the question both he and Taehyun had: “You’re not Yeonjun’s mom, are you?”

“Technically, I am,” the woman spoke, “At least, the image of the woman that was.” She glanced over to Taehyun, “I’m surprise _you_ didn’t realize it right away. You’re the boy who lives with ghosts.”

Beomgyu eyed Taehyun slowly – _why did it have to be ghosts_? At least, zombies and vampires were things that they could physically put a stop to. Ghosts were a different ballpark of Magic that even Beomgyu wasn’t bold enough to dip into. The Celestial Mage wasn't sure why ghosts were a thing. All that he knew was that he would never mess with those beings, he really wasn't sure how Taehyun was able to live with them.

“Do you really live with ghosts?” Beomgyu tilted his head to the left, his voice aimed only for Taehyun to hear. “Like, you actually live with ghosts or is this a metaphor for you _not_ being able to move on from something?”

“They’re not really ghosts, more like remnants of the people in my village,” Taehyun had déjà vu as he spoke. This was a conversation that he swore he had with Kai on a different day. He shook his head, “I had a feeling she was a remnant, but I couldn’t tell. She’s tethered to something different.”

“What?” Beomgyu asked and then added, “Speak in terms I understand.”

“When people pass, their Mana technically stays in our world. If that person is strong enough, their Mana will tether itself to something and let them live in our world as long as the connection is present,” Taehyun explained and then clarified, “For example, in my village, there were elders whose Mana were tethered to a deck of cards. They remained ‘ _living_ ’ in my village until their Mana finally depleted. Their connection to the cards was never broken, so they continued _living_. However, there was an elder whose Mana was tethered to a staff …and unfortunately, the staff had been destroyed. So, that elder’s remnant passed when the staff was destroyed.”

Beomgyu stared at Taehyun. That must have been an incredibly lonely life.

“I explained it in the simplest way possible,” Taehyun said as he looked at Beomgyu, “Please tell me you understood that. I can’t explain it any simpler terms.”

The Celestial Mage stared at Taehyun without blinking. He understood what was explained but seeing the growing frustration on Taehyun’s face was too entertaining to just let pass by. Right before Taehyun snapped at him, he turned to the remnant of Yeonjun’s mother and asked, “What you tethered to?”

“Not what am I tethered to,” she said, the traces of a sad smile came upon her expression. Those familiar eyes held a gleam of gloom as she continued, “ ** _Who_** am I tethered to?”

* * *

Yeonjun leapt off the Dragon of Lightning’s back, carefully angling himself in the air to ensure a safe landing in front of the Water Dragon Slayer.

The waves of water that Namjoon had create washed over Yeonjun. Once he found he settled himself, he turned to Namjoon and said, “We can’t fight our element, all it does is charge us up.” The Prince stood up as he turned his attention to the Dragon of Water, “I’ll take care of the Water Dragon. You should get to the Fire one and pass the message along to the others.”

Namjoon smirked as he nodded. He bumped his fist with Yeonjun’s before he left.

The Prince eyed the Water Dragon – this was a bad match-up for the Dragon, of course. While this was known to Yeonjun, it seemed the Dragon hadn’t understood the situation yet. It rushed forward, ready to begin its attack. However, Yeonjun kicked off the ground, ascending into the air as he sailed above the Dragon.

As he sailed through the air, above the Dragon, he raised both of his hands at his sides and generates electricity between their open, facing palms. The electricity between his hands rapidly shaped itself into a massive spear that Yeonjun lifted and slammed into the Dragon’s back. The electrical attack caused the Dragon to let out a roar of pain. The pain caused the panic in the beast to rise; it began to thrash about, uncaring about who or what it was attacking. Yeonjun twisted himself, tilted himself to avoid the Dragon’s panicked attacks until he landed safely.

“Tch,” he frowned at the strikes from the creature. “I don’t have time for this.”

Yeonjun clapped his hands together as he opened a Casting Circle between his palms. He generated lightning in the palm of his hands. Once enough lightning had been generated, he released the concentrated, destructive lightning blast at the Dragon – the blast had enough Mana poured into it that it destroyed everything that was in his path until it ravaged the beast.

“Hm,” Yeonjun watched as the Dragon stood up for a second. His gaze flared into a glare as he gritted his teeth. He waited to see what the beast would do, braced himself for a retaliation but as the Dragon tried to move, it fell into the ground. The Dragon tried to move, but it felt to paralysis; the lingering static of electricity kept it on the ground.

“Alright,” Yeonjun said as he scanned the battlefield, “Let’s go. Next.”

Namjoon had spread the information to Yoongi and Hoseok. Once they all shifted their targets, the true battle was ready to begin.

The temperament of water could change with the simple shift of the breeze: The Dragon Slayer of Water was no longer on the defensive.

With a quick flick of his wrists, Namjoon quickly created Casting Circles to summon his twin blades of water. The two Casting Circles faded once the blades were created and instantly, Namjoon used a technique he’d learned from Jimin: the Dragon Slayer of Water created a Casting Circle below his feet. From the new Casting Circle, he immediately drew water upward and coated himself with a tidal wave of water. With the two blades crossed in front of him, Namjoon rushed straight for the Fire Dragon – he slashed the blades as he came in front of the Dragon. The sheer force of the swung blades caused the wave of water that surrounded him to gush forward, moving like a third blade as it hit the Fire Dragon.

Namjoon quickly withdrew from his attacking position, distancing himself from the creature as he quickly set up for a second attack.

Using the two blades, he drew a circle around him and mixed it with the Casting Circles. Spikes of water spurred from the circles, flying them straight into the air – they resembled swallows right before they took flight, spreading trails of water and causing an immediate downpour in the area. Namjoon’s eyes sharpened, focused on the Fire Dragon as it tried to settle itself. The birds of rain synchronized with Namjoon’s movements – he held both blades on either side as he rushed toward the Dragon and as he arrived in front of it, he slashed the beast again. When his blades crossed, the birds of rain dove through the Dragon.

When the Fire Beast finally collapsed, Namjoon withdrew his blades of water.

The Thunder Dragon let out a roar before it released a blast of lightning. It aimed to attack the BH Mages beside it but before its lightning could hit, beams of steel sprouted from the ground and created a shield for the Mages.

“Get as far away from here as you can,” Hoseok called out as he arrived in front of the Dragon. He turned to face the surprised Mages before he grinned, “I’ll take care of this Dragon. Just get to safety as soon as you can.” The Iron Dragon Slayer waited until the Mages were a good distance from there before he removed the beams of steel. The situation was dire, but Hoseok still maintained his casual smile, “It’s time to dance.”

Hoseok bounced lightly on his tiptoes, keeping himself moving and open to any directional changes. He crossed his left leg in front of his right. He hopped back on his left foot, crossed it over the right and repeated with his left over again. His arms swung in time with his movements. The Lightning Dragon looked confused as it attempted to keep up with Hoseok’s movements. As he top-rocked his way to the Dragon, he bent his left leg forward, placing his right leg behind; he caught himself as he fell forward, landing in a plank-like position. He lifted his right hand, then his opposite leg in the air and then began to switch his limbs – he began to move his body in a circular motion, swinging his legs around as he switched hands. He bent his elbows forward, moving his body in a windmill position.

As Hoseok moved in this windmill dance, he created two Casting Circles in the centers of his palms. In the center of his palms and that was where he began to transform into a steel drill. He continued to rotate at a high speed, moving faster and faster until he launched himself into the Lightning Dragon. With the speed of his rotation and the steel enhancement in his body, he pierced through the Dragon’s body.

Hoseok landed after the rotation. He turned back and looked for the next target.

The Iron Dragon’s roar was loud. It came from the pit of its stomach and aimed directly at Yoongi. The Fire Dragon Slayer had never been one to shy away when someone called him out, even if it was a Dragon.

Yoongi had maintained his flight – his hands aimed toward the ground, the flames from their Casting Circles kept him suspended in the air. Without warning, he dove at the Lightning Dragon and as he drew closer, he began to rapidly circle around the bottom of the Dragon and spiral around him as he went up. The flames from his hands lagged behind him, enveloping the Lightning Dragon with its heat. It trapped the Dragon. Yoongi flew up to the opening the vortex he created.

The Lightning Dragon aimed a blast of electricity at him.

It didn’t hit – the Dragon Slayer easily dodged the attack as he veered to the right side.

“It’s over,” Yoongi declared as he lifted his right hand up. He concentrated the majority of his flames into the center of his fist. The fire from his fists began to coat his arms before he launched himself toward the Lightning Dragon. He struck the beast once before he propelled himself back up. He aimed his right palm at the Dragon and momentarily moved his left hand on his right wrist. At the quick steady of his hand, he let out a blast of fire in the shape of an X as it directly burnt the Dragon into a crisp.

“Four down,” he announced as he returned his open palms to face the ground. From where he levitated, he glanced to find the next target. There were three Dragons left.

When Kai had insisted that Soobin would help him with _eating_ a Dragon, Soobin had zero idea what that meant. The blue-haired healer actually assumed that Beomgyu or Taehyun would have made a better partner when it came to fighting a Dragon – he would have suggested Yeonjun, an **_actual_** Dragon Slayer, but the Prince was already ensnared in the battle against the Dragons already.

“Jeeze,” Soobin whispered as he finally caught sight of what the battle had become. The Virtues were in the midst of protecting people from the attacks of both the Dragons and Macabre Grimoire Mages – the destruction that had been laid from the strikes had left the area devastated. Soobin was thankful that this had not taken place near any cities or villages; there would have been no survivors. His attention was instantly taken away from Hueningkai, who tripped on the loose gravel. “Kai,” Soobin rushed over, immediately helping the younger Mage from the ground, “You know you need to be more careful than norma—”

Kai pulled Soobin on the ground as the scaled tail of a Dragon swung above them. He looked over at Soobin and grinned before he warned, “Soobin, you know you need to be more careful than normal. There are Dragons here, remember?”

“Cheeky,” Soobin said with pout. He looked up at the Dragon that thrashed around them. His eyes squinted as he asked Kai, “Which Dragon is this?”

“I don’t know,” Kai said with a laugh, “It’s one of them?”

“Kai!”

Soobin’s question was answered quickly. There was a scent that came from the Dragon and Soobin immediately covered Kai’s mouth and nose. He glared at the younger Mage, “It’s Poison.” With his mouth and nose covered, Kai couldn’t respond. Instead, he looked at Soobin with wide eyes.

The blue haired Mage had never been one to enjoy the other use for his Magic. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he would be the only one who could handle the Poison Dragon. He pressed the palm of his right hand against his chest; he opened a Casting Circle against his chest. With the gentle release of his Mana, he strengthened his ability to breathe in the Poison being released by the Dragon. After he put a hand of Kai’s chest, opening a Casting Circle in the way that he did; he rose Kai’s immune system and increased his ability to breathe in the Poison. Soobin paused and wondered, “What else do we need to be able handle Poison?”

Kai shrugged, unable to answer the question that Soobin had asked. Instead, he pointed at the Dragon that appeared behind the older Mage.

From the snout of the Dragon, dark purple smoke was exhaled – even from the distance they were at, Soobin could tell it was Poison. The healer snapped his fingers as he looked at Kai, “Can you shift into your largest form?” Kai nodded slowly and Soobin grinned, “Perfect, Kai. Please shift into your biggest beast form and hold the Dragon down for me. I need to get as close to it as possible.”

Of course, that was easier said than done.

The moment that Kai shifted into his largest beast form, he became the target for the Poison Dragon. He fought the Dragon’s attack, bracing himself against the Dragon’s attempt to bite him. With his hands, he held the Dragon’s mouth open, keeping it at bay. Kai grunted at Soobin, gesturing for the older Mage to get closer to the fantastical beast.

At the opening that Kai had given Soobin, the older Mage ran under the belly of the Dragon. Despite Soobin’s height, he couldn’t reach the belly of the beast. So, instead, he ran to the nearest leg of the Dragon and placed his hand on the Dragon’s leg. He opened a Casting Circle against the Dragon’s leg. If this Dragon was able to breathe out poison …Soobin could expediate the effects of the poison before it left the Dragon’s body.

“Hold it down a little bit longer, Kai,” Soobin called out as he put his Mana into the Dragon. The spell that Soobin cast quickly altered the Poison that the Dragon breathed; he aimed to accelerate the effects of the poison before it left the Dragon’s body. With the amount of poison he assumed was in the Dragon, changing its speed would corrode the Dragon from within. Every breath the Dragon took expanded the amount of toxin within it and as it filled toxin, the Dragon began to grow weary – it weakened its attack on Kai.

“Okay!” Soobin shouted as he took his hand off the Dragon’s leg and tried to run away from it toppling over. He made sure to get out before he called out to Kai, “Go! Do your Beast Soul thing.”

Much like everyone else, Soobin had never seen when Kai “ _ate a Beast Soul_ ”. Usually, when Kai was called on a Quest to tame a beast, only the highest level Mages were called – they were the only ones that could defend themselves if he lost control.

With the weakened Dragon, Kai was able to let go of its snout. He shoved the Dragon with his shoulder, pushing it on its side. The Beast Soul user placed a hand on the Dragon’s chest, opening a Casting Circle in the center of it. With the release of his Mana, Kai was able to put his hand into the Dragon’s chest; he twisted his hand and gently pulled it out. In the palm of his hand was bright, purple orb with a small tail; since this was the Dragon soul, there were small wings placed on either side of it.

Kai shifted back into his human form as he held the Dragon soul in his palm. He pinched that tail of the soul and lifted it up; he turned to Soobin gave him a thumbs up before he grinned. His eyes turned back to the soul before he said, “Thank you for the meal.” Kai released his grip on the Dragon soul and it dropped into his mouth. AS soon as he swallowed the soul, Kai put his hand over his mouth and opened Casting Circle. Once the spell ended, he licked his lips then wiped the back of his hand over his mouth.

“… did you really just eat the Dragon soul?”

Kai held a thumbs up at Soobin and grinned, “Think we can get another one?”

* * *

If Taehyun hadn’t caught him, Beomgyu would have fallen over.

“What?” Beomgyu said as he steadied himself. He gave Taehyun a quick thank-you before he blinked back into focus, his attention turned back to the remnant of Yeonjun’s mother. He ran his fingers through his hair, frustration grew each time that he did. “… are you bein—is that the truth? Are you telling us the truth?”

“I’m afraid she is,” the ex-Funeral Wreath, Alaude, stepped into their conversation. Beomgyu instantaneously jumped behind Taehyun; Taehyun had a card placed between his index and middle finger. “Relax, King of Hearts,” Alaude held his hands up, palms facing both of the Mages, “I’m not the enemy. I’m here on request from your Prince of Chronos.”

Taehyun may have lowered his card, but he didn’t release it – with the members (or ex-members) of Macabre Grimoire, taking extra precaution was important. “What did Yeonjun ask you to do, Alaude?” He asked as he eyed the Mage with concern, “What did he need you to do?”

“Find his mother’s true location,” the Mage said, “Unbeknownst to this Guild, I was a detective prior to being indebted, mind you.”

Beomgyu’s face scrunched in confusion before he shrugged, “If Yeonjun trusted him with this, I guess I can trust him too.” He stepped out from behind Taehyun and peered over to the detective Mage.

“Unfortunately, she is all that remains of his mother in this world.” Alaude sighed as he put his hands in his trench-coat pockets, “The remnant remains because she’s tethered to the Prince. His mother,” he paused at the memory and nodded, “I met her prior to her unfortunate slumber. She’s the reason the Prince has those traces of Celestial Mana – she transferred it to him, just enough to protect the Prince and continuously provide him with her Mana while she could no longer be beside him.” He looked at Beomgyu, “The illusions for his heart, those are powered by the Celestial Energy that materializes your spirits into this world.”

A mother who sacrificed herself to ensure the livelihood of her son – Beomgyu wondered if Yeonjun knew how much his mother loved him. This also explained why Yeonjun had _more_ Mana than most people had – he had enough for two people, including Celestial Mana from a Celestial Mage.

“That makes sense,” Beomgyu muttered, “Leo and Aquarius mentioned they’d found him in the Celestial Realm before. He was dreaming about our three child--,” he trailed off as he felt Taehyun’s eyes on him. He could almost feel Taehyun’s judgmental glance pierce through him. Beomgyu cleared his throat, “Yes, okay but that doesn’t change the fact that she just said that if disappears, Yeonjun’s Mana disappears too. He can’t afford to lose his Mana.”

“He should be fine,” Taehyun looked at Beomgyu, “He can just lose it for a little bit and recharge.”

“No, he can’t,” Beomgyu looked at Taehyun, “You don’t get it. Yeonjun _cannot_ afford to lose his Mana, even for a little bit. He can’t.”

“He’s a Mage. Once he is able to recharge his Mana, he should be fine.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Beomgyu cried in frustration, “If Yeonjun loses his Mana even for a little bit, he will die. He will actually, seriously die.” The Celestial Mage bit his bottom lip; he chewed on it as those unwanted thoughts came. He shook his head, “I can’t do that again. Not when I just got him back, Taehyun. I refuse to allow that to happen. I can’t. I won’t.”

“He won’t die.”

“You don’t get it,” Beomgyu snapped, “Yeonjun needs his Mana to constantly be available because he has to cast illusions to make sure he stays alive.”

“He’s missing his heart,” the remnant of Yeonjun’s mother spoke, “That’s why she was so desperate to make sure he was able to do Magic. Just in case she wouldn’t be around …except she made the mistake of tethering to him.” She shook her head and said, “My time is almost over and if I disappear, the Mana given to him wi—”

“No!” Beomgyu shouted. He didn’t want to hear it being said. “Detective Man,” Beomgyu turned to Alaude, “Is there any way to fix this? Is there anything I can do to make sure that Yeonjun doesn’t …”

“There is one way …You could tether him to a different source of Celestial Mana,” Alaude thought out loud as he gazed at Beomgyu. There was no need for follow up since there was only one Mage between them that had Celestial Mana.

* * *

The Celestial Mage had caught the quick fist bump between Yeonjun and Yoongi as he made his way through the battlefield. Yeonjun had finally sat down, he leaned back on his hands trying to catch his breath. Yoongi’s gaze was on the fallen Earth Dragon, a prideful grin was on his face before he nodded and said, “I’m going to catch up to the others. Take a breather, your highness.”

As Yoongi left, Beomgyu ran to where Yeonjun was sat. The Celestial Mage kneeled behind Yeonjun and hugged him from behind, he pressed his cheek against the top of Yeonjun’s head. “Beomgyu?” Yeonjun called out as he tilted his head up to look at him, “Baby, what are you doing here?”

Beomgyu didn’t have the words to say. Not right away. Instead, he hugged Yeonjun a little tighter. “Um,” the Celestial Mage began, “You know, that woman …she’s not your mother.”

“I know,” Yeonjun nodded, “I already had a feeling.”

“She’s a remnant of your mother,” Beomgyu said as he tightened his hug on Yeonjun again. He felt Yeonjun’s hand reach up to his. The Celestial Mage cleared his throat as he said, “She’s teth—”

There was one Dragon left.

And a very angry Macabre Grimoire Guild Master on top of it.

The Dragon of Wind hovered above them, its wings shook above them sending gusts of wind at their way. Yeonjun had quickly moved from where he’d sat, switching their position – he was the one who hugged Beomgyu, shielding him from the Dragon’s wind.

Beomgyu could feel the heaviness of Yeonjun’s breathing. For the first time, Beomgyu could feel the drain of Yeonjun’s Mana. The remnant was fading. He turned to the Prince, “Yeonjun, we ne—I need to—”

Yeonjun shook his head, “I’ll take care of this. You get to safety, Beomgyu.”

“No, stop,” Beomgyu pleaded with him.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, I promise it won’t take long,” Yeonjun said, his breath had gotten rough. “Just give me a second—” Beomgyu grabbed Yeonjun’s arm, his grip tightened on it as he shook his head. This caused Yeonjun to stop, “Baby, what’s going on?”

“I don’t want you to die,” Beomgyu finally squeaked out.

“But I do,” the Guild Master grinned as he called for the Dragon’s attack to begin.

The Dragon of Wind’s wings created a gigantic tornado that surrounded Beomgyu and Yeonjun. The tornado created a wall of wind that separated the two of them from the rest of the battlefield. The world outside was left untouched, but inside was a different story. Yeonjun shield Beomgyu from the wind, but as he did, the slicing winds that created the tornado began to cut Yeonjun. Beomgyu put his hand on Yeonjun’s cheek, rubbing his thumb against the new cut, “We have to get out of here.”

“You know,” the Guild Master shouted, “Everything was going according to plan and you two had to be the ones to ruin everything. The Prince and the Celestial Mage.” He let out a snide laugh as he continued, “I’m not winning this battle but I’m going to make sure that the two of you are dead. I’m going to enjoy making that happen.”

The Guild Master crossed his hands in front of him – Casting Circles emerged in front of him. This prompted multiple air currents to surround him and the Dragon. The air currents swirled around them, creating a hurricane that enveloped them in a wind armor. With this new power, the Guild Master and the Dragon rushed at them.

Yeonjun wrapped his arms around Beomgyu, pulling him to the side to avoid the attack. Beomgyu hugged Yeonjun tightly. “Baby,” Yeonjun started, “We need to separate them. I’ll take care of the Dragon …”

Beomgyu nodded, “I’ll handle the Guild Master.”

“I’ll be quick,” Yeonjun declared, “I’ll be right beside you before you even realize, okay?”

The Celestial Mage gazed at Yeonjun before he nodded slowly. “Yeonjun …,” he started but that Guild Master came back again. Beomgyu reached for one of his Zodiac keys and quickly transformed into the Leo Armor. As the Guild Master challenged him, Beomgyu drew the Leo Sword and pushed him away – he used enough of his strength to drive the Guild Master off the Dragon.

As Beomgyu’s battle began, he could hear the clash of Yeonjun’s lightning against the Dragon’s attacks. The Celestial Mage could feel himself at ease – as long as he could hear the lightning, he knew that Yeonjun was safe but that meant he needed to beat the Guild Master.

“Do you really have time to be looking at your Prince?” The Guild Master grinned as he snapped his fingers, manipulating the weight of gravity around Beomgyu. Beomgyu swung the Leo Blade, sweeping against the ground that was attempting bury him – he destroyed the ground beneath him as he pulled himself upward, propelling himself away from the heavy gravity.

Beomgyu charged the Leo Sword with his Mana as it charged, it duplicated. He lowered the sword backward as it duplicated again – the Leo sword multiplied, each one floated around him and aimed its blade at the Guild Master. Beomgyu opened a Casting Circle as the swords around him began to dance – they spun around his waist rapidly before Beomgyu sent them flying at the Guild Master. As the Guild Master dodged the flying blades, Beomgyu ran toward him and aimed his sword at the Mage.

The tornado wall around them had disappeared – Beomgyu breathed a sigh of relief: Yeonjun won. However, the lightning stopped. Beomgyu counted a few seconds.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

And five …he could not continue counting. He tried to focus on fighting the Guild Master, but as the seconds began to pass through quickly, his attention was focused on something else. During this moment of distraction, the Guild Master came at Beomgyu with a targeted spell. The Celestial Mage defended, protected himself from the Mana blast – he sliced at it, splitting it in half.

The realization came to Beomgyu: the remnant was gone.

The panic came into the Celestial Mage when he realized it. His eyes widened – he needed to get to Yeonjun. He needed to get to Yeonjun _now_. Beomgyu charged the Leo sword once more, filling it with Mana as he charged at the Guild Master. He tackled the Guild Master with his full strength and then drove the blade of the Leo sword into him. With his sword in the Guild Master, Beomgyu released the blast of explosive Mana – it burst within the Guild Master, sending the Mage flying somewhere that Beomgyu didn’t care about.

The Celestial Mage called for the Leo Armor to return as he ran to where Yeonjun had fallen. His Prince had laid there, unmoving as Beomgyu arrived. He fell onto his knees beside Yeonjun and pulled him onto his lap. “Yeonjun …,” Beomgyu whispered but the Dragon Slayer’s eyes opened slightly, just a flutter.

Beomgyu still had time – he had to have still had time, he _needed_ to still have time. He pressed a hand where Yeonjun’s heart should have been and opened a Casting Circle. As the Casting Circle glowed, Beomgyu dragged his thumb across the center of the circle; he traced the Casting Circle with his thumb before he pressed it into the center and released his Mana into Yeonjun.

There was a glow that surrounded the Dragon Slayer, just for a moment. It wrapped around him, enveloped him in that warm glow that matched the warmth from Beomgyu before it completely faded.

The Celestial Mage was unsure of the spell, but Alaude was the one who gave it to him. It had to work. It had to. Beomgyu wasn’t sure what he would do if it didn’t.

“Yeonjun …,” Beomgyu moved his hand from Yeonjun’s chest to his cheek. He brushed his thumb against Yeonjun’s cheek. “Please, I can’t do this again,” he pleaded, “Please …,” The Celestial Mage began to cry. He let the tears fall as he begged Yeonjun to wake up, but the Dragon Slayer remained unmoving. Beomgyu bit his lip – he was too late. “No,” Beomgyu murmured as he shook his head. His vision blurred, “I can’t …Yeonjun, please. You promised me. You promised …”

The Celestial Mage’s thumb swept against Yeonjun’s lips before he leaned and kissed his Prince.

“Yeonjun,” Beomgyu cried out when he pulled away from the kiss, then hugged him. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Yeonjun breathed out. His eyes finally opened. He blinked up at Beomgyu before he asked, “Did we win?”

The Celestial Mage pulled back and stared at Yeonjun. There were obvious tears that hugged his cheeks but Beomgyu smiled between his sniffles. He gazed at Yeonjun so lovingly for a moment before he punched him in his shoulder.

“Stop almost dying,” Beomgyu shouted at him. He punched Yeonjun in the shoulder again, “I can’t fucking take it, Yeonjun. I love you too much.” Just for good measure and emphasis, Beomgyu punched Yeonjun one more time. He collapsed on top of Yeonjun, “I love you. Please stop almost dying.”

Yeonjun hugged him, “I love you too, Beomgyu.”

* * *

Macabre Grimoire’s Guild Master had survived the attack from Beomgyu.

“I’ll get my revenge,” the Guild Master said as he dragged himself forward. He had a hand clamped over his right shoulder. Beomgyu’s attacks had taken him by surprise – he hadn’t prepared for the Celestial Mage’s burst of power. He frowned, brows furrowed as he swore, “I’ll kill that Celestial Mage.”

“I don’t think so.”

The Guild Master turned to face the owner of the voice. He smirked as he eyed the Mage speaking to him, “Taehyunnie, I’m surprised you’re still here.”

Taehyun stepped out from behind the trees. He stood in front of the defeated Guild Master with an obvious smirk on his face. Between his hands, he held a deck of cards – he split the deck in half before he intertwined them. He lifted the cards up after the riffle to form a bridge, pushing the cards together as he grinned.

“It’s kind of sad, isn’t it?” Taehyun asked as he shuffled the deck again. He walked forward, shortening the distance between him and the Guild Master. “You boasted so much about destroying everyone and everything, about taking over the land of Chronos?” Taehyun smirked before he let out a soft chuckle, “How the mighty have fallen.”

“Temporary set-back,” the Guild Master said with a scoff. He still believed that he could continue, “Your friends made a mistake. They left me a—”

The Guild Master froze. He gasped for breath, trying to reach for Taehyun. His eyes widened as he looked down: a single card had pierced through his chest.

“You see, they’re not the type to finish a Mage off if they don’t have to,” Taehyun said as he took another card between his index and middle finger. The tug of a smile came onto his face before he put a slimmer of Mana into the card. He aimed the card at the Guild Master’s chest once more, then again and again before he threw the final card into the Guild Master.

The single card that sealed Macabre Grimoire’s Master was the King of Hearts.

The Guild Master collapsed on the ground, unable to recover from the attack. As he turned his head, he caught a final glance at the smirk on Taehyun’s face. The blonde Mage said just one phrase before he walked away: “ **Long live the King of Hearts**.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends,
> 
> Thank you so much for making it to the end of this chapter! This was the 2nd to last chapter of DYBIM and I cannot believe that we're already here. You guys are seriously the MVPs for reading through all of this. I'm always so thankful for you all. We've had so many fun moments and so man dramatic ones. Thank you for running through this adventure with me!
> 
> Since there is only one more chapter left, please know that I'll be holding more polls this time! I honestly kept forgetting to tell you all that I hold polls on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/nine3rds) account - whatever you all vote for is usually what ends up affecting the flow of the story. There's one chapter left, so you can all still participate in the polls!
> 
> Anyway, I'll see you all in the next chapter!
> 
> As always, love ya and appreciate ya!


	17. Out of the Blue Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every beginning has its end but the journey to get there is what matters the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends,
> 
> Welcome to the last chapter of DYBIM. It's been a long and wild ride, hasn't it? Thank you so much for joining and reading this this adventure with me. I hope you all had fun. I know I had fun writing this tale.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter.

Beomgyu didn’t want to wake up.

For the first time in a long time, there wasn’t a panic or fear that caused the Celestial Mage to jolt out of bed. It was the slow peak of the sun’s rays through the curtains that kissed his cheeks with warmth that gently woke him. Even with the soft morning light, Beomgyu wanted to stay in bed. He turned over as tenderly as he could, a quiet attempt not to wake the sleeping Prince beside him.

Out of habit, Beomgyu reach a hand across to brush the strands out of Yeonjun’s face. That was when he noticed that the bright pink of Yeonjun’s hair had started to fade in a delicate shade of blush. He thought quietly to himself that these moments were the ones he didn’t want to wake up from. These perfect, quiet moments where neither of them had to rush – Beomgyu wanted to savor more of these.

“Beomgyu,” Yeonjun muttered with his eyes still closed. The Celestial Mage was surprised, he didn’t expect him to be awake. Yeonjun opened an eye as he chuckled and said, “Stop watching me sleep. I know I sleep pretty, but it’s starting to get creepy.”

“Shut up,” Beomgyu snapped as he reached for the pillow behind Yeonjun’s head. He grabbed it and then smacked the Prince with it. “I’m actually the pretty sleeper. You’re average, actually,” Beomgyu teased and then let out a yelp as he felt Yeonjun’s fingers slide under his shirt and start to tickle him. Between gasps of laughter and giggles, all of the tickling and pillow fights, Beomgyu decided that **this** is the happiness that he deserved.

They decided to stay in that morning – Yeonjun offered to cook breakfast, which had Beomgyu teasing the Prince the entire time. Although, after the teasing subsided, Beomgyu realized domestic this was and flustered himself. They settled themselves on the floor in front of Beomgyu’s bed.

“Yeonjun,” Beomgyu started as he rest his head on Yeonjun’s shoulder. The Celestial Mage didn’t know how to start the conversation, but he knew that they needed to have it. He sighed. Beomgyu had a gift of gab and it was typically easy to talk to Yeonjun, especially when Beomgyu knew that _he_ was Yeonjun’s biggest weakness. However, this wasn’t an easy topic. “Um …,” Beomgyu tried to start again.

“She’s not with us anymore,” Yeonjun said as he kept his eyes forward. There was a wave of sadness that came into his eyes. “I think, I knew that. Deep down, I think I knew that she wouldn’t be here anymore. I just kept holding on.”

“She’s your mom,” Beomgyu reached for Yeonjun’s hand, “I think anyone would have tried to find their mom.” He laced his fingers with Yeonjun’s and gently brushed his thumb against Yeonjun’s’ hand. “Your mom loved you a lot. She …um, she gave her Mana up for you. That’s why you had Celestial Mana in you. Why you’re so strong?”

“She didn’t have to though …,” Yeonjun sighed.

“That’s the thing about moms,” Beomgyu smiled as he thought of his own. “They would give up the most precious things to them to make sure their kids are taken care of.” His mom had given him her most precious and most loved Zodiac key, Aquarius, after all.

“I’m just extremely lucky and loved, huh?”

“Very loved,” Beomgyu said as he looked over to Yeonjun. “When the remnant of your mother disappeared …,” Beomgyu quietly chewed on the inside of his cheek. His voice softened into a whisper, “The Celestial Mana that your mom had given you also disappeared …”

Yeonjun turned his head to look at Beomgyu very slowly. “Baby, what happened?”

“Well, your Mana needed to be tethered to something else …,” Beomgyu spoke slowly, “To another Celestial Mage …,” his eyes peered up at Yeonjun. “So, as the only Celestial Mage crazy enough to give part of his Mana …,” Beomgyu titled his head to the side. He smiled at Yeonjun, “Surprise.”

“Beomgyu,” Yeonjun’s voice was soft as he turned to face Beomgyu. He leaned in to kiss Beomgyu with such gentleness and love that it left Beomgyu out of breath. “You know,” Yeonjun said as he put a hand on Beomgyu’s cheek, “I was worried about not having an actual heart but you’re my heart, Beomgyu.”

“Don’t say such cheesy things, Yeonjun,” Beomgyu muttered as he scrunched his nose, “I’m already yours. You don’t have be that cheesy. You can be like mild cheddar. Or muenster.”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, “I love you too.”

* * *

Despite Yeonjun insisting that the two of them gallivant into a month-long vacation, that wasn’t something that they could do yet. Yeonjun had to fully step into his role as the Prince of Chronos – he needed to get back to the Castle, delegate their rebuilding process, placate the stressed civilians and find away to appease the members of the Arcobaleno Alliance. So, even though Yeonjun provided very tempting persuasion, Beomgyu had to let him go. The Prince had a duty to fulfill and Beomgyu had one to fulfill as well: the BH Guild needed to begin their rebuilding process.

At the beginning of their rebuilding process, Beomgyu started with major enthusiasm. The faster they get everything back up and running, the faster he and Yeonjun could finally go on that vacation. He put his all into helping the Guild; the Celestial Mage committed all of his time and energy into helping the Guild return to its glorious state …

 **That was three and a half weeks ago**.

“Your enthusiasm lasted longer than I thought it would,” Taehyun commented as he put a bottle of water and a boxed lunch in front of Beomgyu. The blonde Mage shook his head as he sat on the opposite side of the table from the Celestial Mage. “Can I be frank?”

“You’re going to be frank even if I say no,” Beomgyu reached for the water bottle and opened it. “So, go ahead, be frank. Give it to me.”

“You look like shit,” Taehyun laughed as he opened his own lunchbox. Even as the Guild walls were being rebuilt, the lunches at BH were always the top of the line. “What happened to you? Aren’t you sleeping properly? Your place wasn’t damaged during the attack.”

Beomgyu finished his water before he answered Taehyun, “It’s been almost a month since I’ve seen Yeonjun. I am in mourning.”

“He’s still alive. How are you mourning?”

“My love life is dying,” Beomgyu dramatically put his hands on his cheeks. He shook his head as he closed his eyes. “I was supposed to be on a vacation in some place that I can’t pronounce or remember with the love of my life and instead, we’re working lumber and painting walls. I love the Guild but I’m too pretty to be working this much physical labor.”

Taehyun stared at Beomgyu with his mouth agape before he let out a laugh. He shook his head at him, “You’re hilarious. The Guild’s almost done being rebuilt. I’m pretty sure that the Castle is going to a little longer. Plus Yeonjun’s probably doing all sorts of royalty business – I actually think he should take over instead of his dad since he’s doing mo—” Taehyun stopped as he heard a groan come from Beomgyu. He looked over at the Celestial Mage, who had put his head on the table. “If you’re going to cry for four days again, please cry in your apartment.”

“I’m not crying for four days. Maybe three,” Beomgyu said as he pretended to consider it. He lifted his head off the table and said, “Tell me something to make me feel better.”

“No.”

“Taehyun.”

“No.”

“Taehyun.”

“No.”

Beomgyu glared at him and frowned. He rest his head in his chin as he glared at Taehyun. “Why not?” Beomgyu pouted with a sigh, “Why are you being so finicky today? You’d swear you were anx—,” with his elbows on the table, he leaned in and eyed Taehyun, “You have a date with Soobin tonight, don’t you?” That’s why you’re being mean to me. Whenever _you’re_ anxious, you get all mean with me.”

“Shu—I didn’—what are you talking about?” Taehyun sputtered out even though he felt the blush tinge his cheeks. He pointed at Beomgyu, “Stop accusing me of things that you don’t know about.”

“You really like him a lot,” Beomgyu chuckled with a smile. “I’ll stop teasing you. At least one of us will be able to go on cute dates,” he shrugged, “Have fun on your date though. Make sure to tease Soobin for me.”

* * *

Taehyun sat on the bench across from the ice cream parlor that Soobin had insisted they visit. Soobin had entered the ice cream parlor – he claimed that he would pick the perfect ice cream flavors for Taehyun. So, the younger Mage let his boyfriend go in and pick the surprise ice cream. Luckily, even though the line was long, Taehyun had business to take care of.

“King of Hearts,” the voice of the blonde detective said. The ex-Macabre Grimoire Mage sat on the bench directly behind Taehyun. “A few of the remaining high-level Mages of Macabre Grimoire have been located and should be taken care of soon,” he began as he crossed his arms over his chest. “There are a few that went into hiding, so it’ll take a little longer to find them.”

“I suspected as much, Alaude,” Taehyun said, his eyes not moving from the door to the ice cream parlor. He could see Soobin’s blue hair from the window – he was thankful that the Healer always towered over everyone, it made him easier to spot. A faint smile was on his face as he decided that there were important people to protect. “Do we have any information on those Mages, detective?”

“Just the basics, of course,” Alaude replied as he adjusted in his seat. He sighed as he said, “I suspect they’re fleeing to Allantrez, but I’ll have the Shuffle Alliance find them before they get to them.”

Taehyun smirked quietly as he nodded. He let the silence linger before he asked, “Why are you still helping us, Alaude? I thought you didn’t do things you weren’t interested in.”

“I owe the Prin--,” Alaude paused, “I can’t really call him the Prince anymore, can I?” He let out a chuckle before he continued, “I owe him for letting me go.”

“Wasn’t that debt paid?”

“Then perhaps I find this whole situation more interesting than I found Macabre Grimoire’s,” Alaude revealed but he clarified, “I am still indebted to his mother. So, until I am satisfied with my payment, I will continue to assist with your Shuffle Alliance, King of Hearts.”

Taehyun wondered if Alaude’s debt to Yeonjun’s mother was less of a debt and more of an unspoken affection. He decided not to ask as he watched the door to the ice cream parlor open, “That’s my cue to go, Jack of Diamonds. Please give me an updated in another few days. The BH Guild should be finished rebuilding after that. So, I’ll be able to assist with locating them.”

“I’ll take my leave then, King of Hearts.”

Taehyun waited until Soobin was out of the door before he stood up. He gave the taller a Mage a smile as he looked at the overfilled ice cream cone from him. Taehyun let out a laugh as he took the cone that Soobin offered him, “You had a field day picking ice cream. That’s so many ice cream flavors, Soobin. I didn’t know there was that many.”

“Sorry, Taehyun. I tried to pick flavors that you liked but then I started picking the ones that reminded me of you,” Soobin admitted sheepishly, “I ended up just picking all of my favorites since you know …,” Soobin trailed off as he slowly began to eat his ice cream cone. He tried to let the coolness of the ice cream keep the heat from rising to his cheeks, but it didn’t help. Not with how cheesy he knew he was going to be. The blush on his cheeks rose even more as he said, “You’re my favorite.”

This time, it was Taehyun who was blushing. He looked at his ice cream and then Soobin’s. Then he decided to lean in and kiss Soobin. When he pulled away, he slowly licked his lips and said, “I think I have a different favorite flavor, Soobin.”

* * *

It was on Friday when Beomgyu ran through the Guildhall’s door screaming. At this point, not a single person was surprised at that the Celestial Mage was screaming. Everyone, including their Guild Master, had gotten used to Beomgyu screaming – it became part of their Guild’s daily routine.

“We’re going to the Castle,” Beomgyu shouted as he put the very fancy invitation scroll in front of Soobin, Taehyun and Kai. He stretched it out with ease as he announced, “Look at this. Look at how fancy my invitation is.” He paused and rolled his eyes as he said, “Everyone in the Guild is going to get their invitation but like, mine is more special.” The Celestial Mage had the smuggest smile as he said, “I’m **_finally_** going to a ball.”

No one paid attention as Beomgyu rose his hands up in the air and spun around. The Celestial Mage fell into a fantasy of what the night could become – he expected a very romantic dance with his boyfriend, the Prince, that night.

“Wait,” Hueningkai frowned, “We have to wear suits, don’t we?”

“I think our usual adventure clothes would actually make us stand out more,” Taehyun pointed out, “You’ll look fine in a suit, Kai.” He gestured his thumb to Beomgyu, “However, he’s not going to be fine no matter what.”

Soobin grinned at Beomgyu happily in his own world before he turned Taehyun and Kai, “Ah, just let him. He’s earned it. Last time must have been so traumatizing for him.” He looked back at Beomgyu and nodded, “He should be happy too.”

“I don’t think he bothered reading the whole invitation though,” Taehyun pushed it over to Soobin, “Because if he did, I can promise you he would be freaking out even more.”

* * *

Sometimes, the journey will lead to such unexpected situations and the return of some unlikely characters. The way to the Castle passed through some awfully familiar places – Beomgyu remembered the forest that they were walking through. This was the forest that Soobin had gotten them lost in because he had gotten distracted by the Sea Cow in the Sea beside …

“YOU!” Beomgyu pointed at the Sea Cow with an accusing finger. The Celestial Mage ran to it and he looked up at it as he placed his hands on his hips. He glared at it and it glared back at Beomgyu. “You’ve come to try and finish the job, haven’t you? Well, here’s the thing, I won’t let you finish me off.”

As Beomgyu exchanged words with the Sea Cow, Hueningkai leaned over to ask Soobin, “Why is Beomgyu yelling at the baby Sea Cow?” He asked Soobin a question, but never took his eyes off of Beomgyu and the creature. “What did he do to the Sea Cow?”

Soobin laughed as he shook his head, “We met this one, before Beomgyu joined the Guild. This is the one that bit Beomgyu.”

“And why did it bite Beomgyu?” Kai asked as he slowly turned to Soobin.

Soobin ran his fingers through his own hair as he _finally_ admitted, “That was my fault. Don’t tell Beomgyu though.” He let out a soft chuckle, “I got a little _too_ enthusiastic when I saw it. It was so cute, how could I not be excited to see it?”

Kai sighed as he walked away from Soobin and made his way to where Beomgyu was staring at the Sea Cow. He looked up at the Sea Cow and then Beomgyu, “It’s apologizing to you.”

“What?” Beomgyu turned to Kai, “You ca—of course, you can understand animals.”

“Beast Soul user,” Kai grinned as he said, “Plus, I grew up on a Sea Cow, Beomgyu. It’s kind of my second language.” He looked away from Beomgyu and waved to the Sea Cow, “I promise he’s not mean. He just got scared, like you did.”

Beomgyu blinked a few times before he decided not to ask. He had seen Kai speak to and befriend a Zombie. He looked at Kai and then the Sea Cow. “Kai, can you tell it that I’m sorry for scaring it and yelling at it? It bit me …so, I freaked out a little.”

Kai was the translator between Beomgyu and the Sea Cow. Luckily, with Kai’s charm they were able to come to a reconciliation between the two of them.

“You can admit it now,” Kai grinned at Beomgyu as they continued their journey to the Castle, “You can admit that Sea Cows are really cute.”

“Okay, fine,” Beomgyu rolled his eyes, “They are cute. As long as they’re not biting me.”

* * *

“Guys,” Beomgyu announced to the BH Guild the day of the ball. He looked great in a suit, just like he mentioned multiple times but that didn’t change the nervousness he had. That anxious feeling got even worse when they actually arrived at the Castle. The Celestial Mage took a deep breath as he announced, “I am internally freaking out.” He took a deep breath as he turned to Taehyun and said, “I’m allowed to freak out too since I’ve never been to the Castle when it’s not under siege and I’ve never met all the people in the Castle …what if there’s Royals there? I’m literally going to be the Prince’s eye-candy and I have to talk to them and what if I embarrass him? What if I end u---”

While Beomgyu drove himself in word vomit, Soobin offered his arm to Taehyun. He smiled, “This is the fanciest date that we’re going to. I hope that we’ll be okay.” Taehyun linked his arm with Soobin and nodded at him with a smile. That smile put Soobin at ease.

However, entering the ballroom of the Castle and seeing all the royals and important people in their land? That did not put Soobin at ease. In fact, it didn’t put any of them at ease with the exception of their Guild Master and the Virtues.

While everyone else left to mingle, Beomgyu had only one person he was looking for. If he was being honest, he was a tad bit upset that Yeonjun hadn’t been there to greet him upon his arrival, but he assumed the Prince was busy. Though he let that pass, the fact that Yeonjun still hadn’t shown up to see how great Beomgyu looked in a suit was starting to upset him. To make things worse, he couldn’t even see Yeonjun’s pink hair navigating through the crowd of people.

“Where is he?” Beomgyu frowned as he took a drink from the passing waiter. He couldn’t even bring himself to take a drink – his eyes kept scanning the room, trying to find Yeonjun. The Celestial Mage sighed. His face had soured until he felt someone tap his shoulder – it was the older gentlemen that handed Yeonjun’s necklace to Beomgyu the last time they met.

“Sir Beomgyu, correct?”

“Beomgyu is fine. Sir sounds so weird,” Beomgyu said with easy politeness. He looked at the elder gentleman and asked, “Did you need me for something?”

“The King has requested that I retrieve you,” he said.

Why would the King ask for Beomgyu? The Celestial Mage was unsure of it but he nodded, “Okay? Please take me to the King?” He shrugged as he put his drink back on a tray that a passing waiter had. “Lead the way!”

The way was to a private balcony away from the entire ball. Only one person was there and Beomgyu easily assumed it was the King. Except, the last time he saw the King, he remembered the man wasn’t as tall or broad shouldered …the Celestial Mage squinted as he walked took a few steps forward. No, this was not the King that he remembered …

“Beomgyu,” the man turned around and gave him a smile. He gently put the crown he held in his hands on the bench next to him.

Beomgyu stared.

He blinked a few times, but he never lifted his gaze.

“What happened to the pink?” Beomgyu asked as he reached up and ran his fingers through Yeonjun’s dark hair. It was just unfair at this point. Why did he have to look good in pink and black hair? Beomgyu assumed he always looked good, even in that rumored blue hair he heard about.

“I liked the pink,” Yeonjun said, “I was actually going to dye it back to the neon pink, like when we first met …but Su-Jin swore she’d shave me bald if I came to my own coronation with pink hair. Something about how I needed to look proper for—”

“I like it,” Beomgyu smiled as he finished playing with Yeonjun’s hair. Without hesitation, he immediately hugged his boyfriend – it had been nearly a month since he got to hug him. There was comfort in being wrapped in Yeonjun’s arms. As Beomgyu sighed happily into the hug, it dawned on him – “ _The King request I retrieve you_ ”, “ _my own coronation_ ”. Beomgyu let go of Yeonjun as he put an arm’s distance between them. He took a very slow, very dramatic sigh before he punched Yeonjun’s shoulder.

“OW, _violent_.” Yeonjun yelped as he reached for his shoulder, rubbing it slowly as his eyes stared at Beomgyu, “What did I do this time?”

“I don’t care that you look very hot with black hair, why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me this was for your coronation?” Beomgyu shouted, “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to be crowned King? HOW ARE YOU EVEN CROWNED KING NOW?”

“First of all, it was on the invitation I sent to you. I wrote that my father stepped down from his position as King upon realizing that he wasn’t exactly useful during the whole Macabre and Allantrez situation. Upon asking his royal council and my inability to be irresponsible to my duty, I’ve inherited another title I didn’t want but will do amazing at,” Yeonjun had started to get accustomed to explaining, “Did you not read it?” He stared at Beomgyu and shook his head as a smile came on, “You didn’t read _your_ invitation. That’s why you didn’t meet me at the Southern entrance. I was wondering if you stood me up.”

Beomgyu blinked wildly at Yeonjun’s accusation. Even if Yeonjun was right, Beomgyu would deny it. He shook his head, “I did read the invitation, okay. I read it very well and very clearly.”

“ _Ohhh_ , is that right?” Yeonjun nodded slowly as he had disbelief in every syllable of his words. He put his hands on Beomgyu’s waist and pull him closer. The smug expression still on him as he continued, “That’s why you didn’t show up at the Southern entrance and kept me waiting. I kept thinking, ‘Oh, Beomgyu will show up soon. I’ll wait five more minutes.’” He dramatically looked away from Beomgyu as he pouted, “Here I thought you loved me and you just st—”

“Shut up and kiss me already, your Highness,” Beomgyu said as he placed his hands on Yeonjun’s cheeks, cupping them gently. “You owe me, anyway. It’s been over a month since you’ve kissed me, Yeonjun. I don’t deserve that. That’s very unfair of you.”

“I missed you too.”

“I know you did,” Beomgyu smiled as he kissed Yeonjun. “You’re not allowed to leave me for a month like that again, Yeonjun. I don’t care if you’re the new King, by the way. You’re not allowed to do that anymore. How many times do I have scold you for that?”

Yeonjun smiled and then smirked, “I have a solution for that, Beomgyu.”

“And what would that be?”

“Let me turn you into royalty,” Yeonjun’s eyes softened as he admired Beomgyu.

“Me? Royalty? Don’t you already worship me?” Beomgyu teased as he laughed, “I don’t want you to knight me or just grant me land. I don’t need that, Yeonjun.”

“No, you’re misunderstanding me,” Yeonjun sighed, “That’s not what I meant by turning you into royalty, Beomgyu.” He leaned in slowly as he whispered the clarification into Beomgyu’s ears. Yeonjun licked his lips slowly as he watched the realization dawn upon Beomgyu’s expression.

“Hm,” Beomgyu grinned as he let go of Yeonjun. He walked over to the bench and took the crown that Yeonjun had placed on it. The Celestial Mage smiled as he put the crown on his head, “King Choi Beomgyu, it has a nice ring to it, don’t you know think?”

In a world where Magic and Mana run rampant, anything and everything could be changed at the flick of a wrist and a snap of the fingers. In this world, it was important to trust the facts and right now, the fact was that the life altering adventure that Beomgyu had started changed so much for the Mage in the best way possible. The fact of the matter was that Beomgyu was happy and ready for his next adventure, whatever that could be. As long as he had the people he loved in his life, he knows that everything would work out.

* * *

  * Beomgyu, Yeonjun, Soobin, Taehyun and Hueningkai will return in the sequel: “ **Do You Believe in Magic?: The 1000 Year Quest** ” – Coming later this year. Don’t worry, it’s not going to take 1000 years but it will be a new adventure for our favorite Mages.
  * Namjoon, Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook will return in a different tale: “ **Do You Believe in Magic?: ZERO – The Virtues** ” – Coming later this year. It’s the tale of the Virtues and the history of the BH Guild.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it all the way to the end of this. As you've read, I do have a prequel and a sequel planned some time this year. I'll be sure to drop notice for it when it's ready ~ 
> 
> Um, I really do want to thank you all for coming through this wild and crazy adventure with me. I actually stopped writing for a good two years before I started this. I've never completed a full chaptered fic like this - this is a long piece, I know. So, thank you all for being here with me and just enjoying the fun. Writing this actually made me remember how much fun it was to create something and share it with others. I can never thank you all enough for helping me remember that.
> 
> I'll be working on other stories and adventures. You can keep up with me on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/nine3rds) \- I post a lot of behind the scenes contents and will probably continue to post polls and other things for the upcoming things. I tend to accidentally leak spoilers of my own stories, so that's always fun. But feel free to reach out to me there or on my [CC](https://curiouscat.me/). I'd love to hear your thoughts on DYBIM - what your favorite parts were? What you enjoyed? What you want to know more about? etc, etc.
> 
> Again, thank you so much.  
> Until the next story!
> 
> Love ya, appreciate ya!


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